RBC Leads Bay Street Bonus Rise as Wall Street Faces Cuts

Royal Bank of Canada and National Bank of Canada led the 7.5 percent surge in bonus awards among the country’s lenders this year, bucking a global trend of pay cuts on Wall Street and in London.

Royal Bank, Canada’s biggest by assets, and National, the sixth-largest lender, boosted variable compensation by 11 percent in the year ended Oct. 31, the biggest increases among the country’s main banks. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was the only one among the group to pare its bonus pool, trimming 2 percent from last year’s allocation.