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THE TWISTED VALUES OF THE ROYAL BANK OF CANADA
The
Royal Bank of Canada is one of our six major national banks.
It is also one of the few banks that has made a profit in
its third quarter earnings this year. However, there are questions
now arising as to just how the Bank is making its profits.
The profits may be due, at least in part, to some surprisingly
twisted values it is promoting.
On the
one hand, the Bank jumped into the homosexual activists' camp,
by denying services to individuals who object to the promotion
of homosexuality. That is, without any legal requirement to
do so, the Bank denied the basic right of freedom of religion
and expression and opinion, as set out in the Charter of Rights,
to those who oppose the promotion of homosexuality. (See
Reality, Jan./Feb. 2002, p.1.) On the other hand, it seems
that the Royal Bank's US affiliates may be discriminating
against individuals by denying its services based on race
- a very confused double standard.
The
Royal Bank's Homosexual Values
In Montreal,
the Royal Bank refused to allow the "No Committee 2006"
to open an account with them because one of the objectives
of the Committee was to oppose the promotion of homosexuality.
As a
result, some Ontario members of the No Committee opened a
bank account on its behalf with the Royal Bank branch in Ontario.
Initially, no difficulty was experienced in opening the Ontario
account, even though at the time the account was opened, there
was submitted to the Bank a copy of the Minutes of the local
No Committee 2006 Ontario Chapter meeting. These minutes clearly
set out the objectives of the Committee, which were: (1) to
promote the contribution that the traditional family has made
to society; (2) to oppose the promotion of homosexuality;
and (3) to oppose policies permitting the adoption of children
by same-sex couples.
However,
in a registered letter dated June 18, 2002, the Royal Bank
notified the Ontario members of the No Committee that its
bank account must be closed by July 5, because the account
"appeared to run counter to the spirit of laws governing
human rights in Canada, as well as our own standards of conduct
and values as an organization." The letter went on to
say that this decision was due to the No Committee's express
purpose "to incite discrimination against minorities
contrary to the principles of the Canadian Human Rights Act."
It is noted that the Canadian Human Rights Act requires only
that homosexuals should not be discriminated against in employment
or in the provision of goods and services. It does not prohibit,
in any way, the expression of an opinion on the homosexual
issue. Clearly, there was no law in Canada prohibiting the
opening of a bank account by the No Committee: rather it is
the policy of the Bank to refuse its services to the organization
because the Committee opposes the promotion of homosexuality.
The Royal
Bank's enthusiasm for supporting and encouraging the homosexual
agenda is also indicated by the fact it is deliberately reaching
out to increase its contact with the homosexual community.
For example, according to the Royal Bank's Community Report
2001, the Bank held a special financial planning seminar in
Vancouver especially tailored to gays and lesbians, which,
according to the Community Report, "provided a rewarding
connection to the community." Ironically, the pro-life/pro-family
community appears to be of no importance to the Royal Bank.
Royal
Bank's Apparent Racist Policies
The Royal Bank has spent more than $US 5.5 billion on acquiring
US acquisitions in recent years, and it is these acquisitions
that are boosting its earnings.
According
to an article in the Financial Post (August 21, 2002),
the Royal Bank, significantly aided by its US acquisitions,
posted an 8% rise in its fiscal third quarter profit this
year.
Analysts
and investors are curious, however, about the details on the
profitability of the Royal Bank expanding its US operations,
which so greatly contributed to its net income in the third
quarter. Its profit is astonishing, compared to the $2 million
loss the Bank experienced in the third quarter of last year
(2001) by its US acquisitions. Moreover, other Canadian national
banks have experienced considerable losses in the third quarter.
The Bank of Montreal's third quarter profit fell 22%, the
CIBC fell 58% and the Toronto Dominion had a $428 million
loss.
Although
the Royal Bank did not take big risks, particularly on the
struggling telecommunications companies, as did some of the
other banks, it is nonetheless significant that, according
to the Financial Post (May 25, 2002), a US Consumers
rights group is challenging the Royal Bank, alleging that
the lending policies of several of its US mortgage subsidies
discriminate against African Americans, and other minority
groups. According to this Consumer Association, the Inner
City Express, the Royal Bank's mortgage unit is denying applications
by African Americans and Latinos for home mortgages in some
US cities more frequently than applications made by whites.
The
consumer group also complains that the Royal Bank's US acquisitions
target African Americans with high-cost or so-called "sub-prime"
loans that feature high interest rates, a practice called
predatory lending. In December 2001, the Royal Bank-owned
Liberty Life Insurance was threatened with a $US 2 million
fine and a one-year suspension of its operating licence for
allegedly charging higher premiums to African American customers.
This charge is called "race-based pricing," a common
practice in the insurance business 30 years ago, but apparently
now revived.
Finally,
a $517 million lawsuit was filed in June against the Royal
Bank by the Netherlands-based Rabobank over a transaction
related to the bankrupt Enron Corp. Rabobank is accusing the
Royal Bank of withholding knowledge about Enron's eventual
demise.
In its
Community Report 2001, under the heading, "The Business
of Building a Civic Society," the President and Chief
Executive Officer, Gordon Nixon, piously stated:
At
RBC, we believe that our success as a company is intrinsically
connected to the economic and social well being of our community
and our country. To us, behaving in a socially responsible
manner is not just something we want to do. It is something
we know we must do as an essential part of our relationships
with our stakeholders, and as a strategic investment in
the future prosperity of our society.
In order
to be believed, Mr. Nixon needs to either change his words
or his bank's discriminatory practices.
Please
write to Mr. Nixon, even if you have before. His address is
as follows:
Mr. Gordon
M. Nixon, President
and Chief Operating Officer
Royal Bank of Canada
200 Bay St., South Tower
Toronto, Ontario M5J 2J5
Tel: (416) 974-4464
Fax: (416) 974-7403
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