The Competition Bureau has issued a request for information (RFI) to help gather facts about Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC) proposed acquisition of HSBC Bank Canada.
The RFI – which highlights the areas of interest to the Bureau – invites market participants and Canadians to submit relevant information to assist the bureau with its investigation.
The bureau is investigating whether the proposed acquisition is likely to result in a substantial lessening or prevention of competition for services provided by the companies, including personal and business financial services across Canada.
The watchdog is seeking information to further assess potential impacts on competition in personal and business financial services.
The type of information requested about competition for these products and services includes:
- • rivalry among RBC and HSBC and with other companies;
• impacts of entry or expansion on price, quality, or choice;
• differences in price, quality, or choice among urban, suburban and rural communities;
• differences in price, quality, or choice available to different consumer groups;
• ease of switching service providers; and
• the prevalence and impact of bundling more than one product or service with a single service provider.
The bureau wants information by 1 June 2023. The review is ongoing and no conclusions have been made at this time.
