TORONTO, April 9 (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Canada plans to deploy up to C$1 billion over the coming years to form a growth fund and make equity investments to support homegrown companies, CEO Dave McKay said on Thursday.
The lender, Canada's largest, is making the investment to support economic growth in the country, McKay said. Several Canadian entrepreneurs seek foreign capital to build homegrown companies, which often means leaving their home market, McKay said. "It's time to shift that narrative," he said at the company's annual shareholder meeting.
Here are some details:
* RBC will deploy capital to help companies build and scalein Canada. The bank has also backed quantum computing, climatetech and healthcare companies in the past. * The lender plans to provide lending, underwriting andadvisory services to support major projects in the country andclose Canada's funding gap. * RBC says its research shows that Canada needs C$1.8trillion in capital investment over the next decade to financemajor projects. "The vast majority of this capital must comefrom the private sector. Government simply cannot - and shouldnot - fund it alone," McKay says. * McKay said the bank is also hiring and expanding servicesin sectors of national importance such as defence,infrastructure, and project financing. That includes a focus onthe Far North and Indigenous partnerships and helping Canadiancompanies expand abroad, he said.(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Toronto; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
