The changing face of European markets
European markets are experiencing significant change. Many of the issues currently impacting global markets – from geopolitical uncertainty to political shifts, energy-market volatility, tariffs and protectionism – are having a profound impact on European markets, reshaping the environment in which businesses and investors operate.
At the same time, questions around private capital and credit, hyperscalers, central bank independence and investment are also shaping the new European dynamic.
Mark Tinworth, Head of Global Market Sales Europe, at RBC Capital Markets, says clients in the region are increasingly looking to their banks to deliver the insights and capabilities needed to understand these forces and navigate their implications.
“We’ve had more clients asking for commentary around commodities and energy-related content, as well as our geopolitical expertise,” he says. “They’re looking to us to guide them through these uncertain times – and to deliver liquidity in those difficult markets.”
“We’ve had more clients asking for commentary around commodities and energy-related content, as well as our geopolitical expertise. They’re looking to us to guide them.”
Mark Tinworth, Head of Global Market Sales Europe
Building on existing strengths
While RBC has been established in the European markets for some time, today’s rapidly evolving landscape provides an opportunity to build out its existing presence.
“Europe and the UK in particular are central to our wider global ambition to become a top 10 provider,” Tinworth says. “In an uncertain market, we are seeing increased focus on non-American global providers, and that’s an opportunity for us to position ourselves as a true global partner to our clients – building on our existing core areas of strength in Europe.”
Those strengths include being known as a strong credit institution. Now, it intends to expand on that by diversifying its European product offering.
“We’ve got very strong product offerings in the U.S. and Canada. We need to make sure that we’re delivering those to European clients, whether it be in equity derivatives, cash equities, our research platform, or more broadly.”
The focus is on building a more connected global franchise, ensuring expertise, product capabilities and client insights are shared across Canada, the U.S. and Europe.
“In an uncertain market, we are seeing increased focus on non-American global providers. That’s an opportunity for us to position ourselves as a true global partner.”
Mark Tinworth, Head of Global Market Sales Europe
A complete offering for Europe’s new landscape
The growth of RBC’s European product set is being driven by a five-year plan focused on strengthening and expanding capabilities across macro and equities, while continuing to build on the established strengths in credit.
Within macro, investment is focused on areas including commodities, rates, quantitative investment strategies (QIS), emerging markets, algorithms and electronification. In equities, it is pursuing global growth while increasing equity financing capabilities, including through Delta One, and adding traders to build on its existing offering.
RBC is also diversifying its European credit offering through growth in securitization and alternative finance, building on its longstanding position in credit and leveraging its balance sheet strength.
Quantitative Investment Strategies
A particular area of focus is RBC’s QIS offering. QIS uses rule-based strategies to deliver investment, hedging and risk-management objectives systematically – bringing together research, technology, structuring, sales and trading across multiple asset classes, including equities, rates and FX.
“The starting point is the client’s need,” Tinworth says. “From there, we can bring together the relevant content, expertise and technology to develop a solution designed around that particular risk-management objective.
For clients operating in increasingly complex markets, the ability to connect capabilities across asset classes can be particularly valuable,” he adds.
Leveraging the power of technology
Credit is another particular area where changing market structure is creating opportunities. Electronification has accelerated, with portfolio trading, algorithmic execution and tighter bid-offer spreads changing how clients think about liquidity, price discovery and execution speed.
Those changes are raising expectations – and creating an opportunity for RBC to apply technology and expertise developed elsewhere in the firm.
It has already built significant electronic trading capabilities in equities, including algorithms, analytics, agency execution and liquidity capabilities. The next step is to apply those learnings to other asset classes.
From an AI perspective, RBC is using predictive AI to help traders better understand risk and liquidity, by analyzing historical data and providing insights into the likelihood of successfully redistributing risk to clients.
“AI is an enabler,” Tinworth says. “Where some institutions go wrong is seeing AI as a threat. This is a development in technology that is really augmenting some of the human expertise that we have. It is an amplifier of people.”
“Where some institutions go wrong is seeing AI as a threat. This is a development in technology that is really augmenting some of the human expertise that we have.”
Mark Tinworth, Head of Global Market Sales Europe
Harnessing a collaborative culture
While market expansion and product development are at the heart of RBC’s moves to meet the changing needs of clients in Europe, Tinworth stresses there is just as big a commitment to investing in people.
“There’s a really impressive amount of talent in this firm already,” he says, “and one of the things that really stands out is our collaborative culture.”
That collaborative culture is viewed as an important competitive advantage as the European platform grows.
“What’s really important is the fantastic feedback we have seen from the client base. They’re looking for this global provider, and the opportunity is there for us to really win together – as long as we hold and maintain this growth mindset.”
