The sale comes as HSBC pursues a strategy of focusing its resources on its core markets, amid pressure from its biggest shareholder Ping An to improve its performance.
"We decided to sell following a thorough review of the business, which assessed its relative market position within the Canadian market and its strategic fit within the HSBC portfolio," Chief Executive Noel Quinn said.The transaction is expected to complete in late 2023 and will result in a pre-tax gain of $5.7 billion for HSBC, the British bank said in a statement.
The deal will enable RBC to take more market share in its home market, adding 130 branches and more than 780,000 retail and commercial customers. If successful it will be the first big banking merger in a decade in Canada.