Gordon Nixon: "It was just so unrelenting"

Gordon Nixon: 'It was just so unrelenting'

What's a banker to do? On the heels of a disastrous year, Canada's big banks are being pressured to both step up lending and boost capital levels. As RBC's chief executive officer tells Tara Perkins, it was - one hopes - a once in a lifetime year, valuable lessons were learned and the sector is better prepared for the challenges ahead.

Many executives will remember 2008 as among the most stressful years in their career, but none more so than banking executives.

The world's banking system was brought to its knees this fall. For Gordon Nixon, CEO of the country's biggest bank, that meant being on constant guard for the next potential crisis and taking action to reduce the bank's exposure to it.

This month, Mr. Nixon decided to bolster the bank's protective defences by raising $2.3-billion in common equity to boost its capital levels. Moves by Canada's big banks to increase capital have been criticized by Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney, who along with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is urging the banks to step up lending. But the banks are facing pressure to do the opposite. Like its counterparts around the world, the bank is increasing its provisions for bad debts because it appears consumers and businesses will struggle in 2009. But Mr. Nixon says Canada heads into this period in a much better position than previous downturns.

The Rest of the article: Globe and Mail