RBC to Increase Bonuses in Upcoming Announcement

According to the latest annual report from the Royal Bank of Canada, there are indications that bonuses at RBC Capital Markets will be higher than last year when they are announced next week.

The bank has disclosed plans to allocate C$10 billion (approximately $7.7 billion) for cash-based variable compensation, marking a 13% increase from C$8.8 billion the previous year.

Additionally, RBC has committed C$2.7 billion towards “benefits and retention compensation,” which has also risen by 13%, while spending on stock-based compensation remains unchanged at C$1 billion. Notably, the number of “capital market compensation plan unit grants” has increased from 3,053 last year to 3,147. Coinciding with this news, the bank’s stock price has seen a 21% uptick.

This marks the second consecutive year that RBC has boosted its bonus pool. Last year, the cash bonus pool enjoyed a 16% increase; however, when it came time to actually announce those bonuses, reactions were somewhat lukewarm, particularly among bankers at RBC Capital Markets in Europe.

In the year leading up to October 2025, RBC Capital Markets reported a revenue growth of 20%, with net income climbing nearly 18%. It seems that salespeople and traders are poised to gain the most from this expansion of the bonus pool, especially as market revenue surged by 28% during the same period.

However, while overall bonuses are rising, RBC Capital Markets is experiencing a reduction in headcount. Recent results showed that the bank cut 362 positions from its capital markets division between August and September, leaving a current workforce of 7,648, which is about 200 more than at the start of the year.