RPT-Canada Parliament panel asks Ottawa to reject RBC, HSBC unit deal

The finance committee of Canada's House of Commons lower chamber has asked Ottawa to reject Royal Bank of Canada's C$13.5 billion acquisition of HSBC's domestic unit, citing the lack of competition in the country's financial sector. The committee's report late Wednesday comes weeks after the Competition Bureau approved the transaction, clearing the way for one of the biggest deals in the country's financial sector. The deal, which was announced in November 2022, is now in the hands of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) and Canada's finance ministry.