City National Bank Appoints John H. Bai Chief Financial Officer

Bai Joins from RBC to Succeed Christopher J. Carey

LOS ANGELES, March 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — City National Bank, America’s Premier Private and Business Bank^®, today announced that John H. Bai will join the company as chief financial officer, effective May 1. Bai will report to Kelly Coffey, chief executive officer of City National, and Rod Bolger, CFO of Royal Bank of Canada. Christopher J. Carey, currently the CFO of City National, is retiring from the role.

As CFO, Bai will oversee the finance, accounting and treasury functions at City National, as well as asset and liability management, corporate development, insurance, corporate real estate, and banking operations and investment services. He will also serve as a member of the company’s Executive Committee and Strategy and Planning Committee.

“John is a seasoned financial leader with more than 25 years of broad financial services experience and a strong track record of success,” said Coffey. “City National is a growth company, and I am confident that John’s considerable expertise, leadership and skills will help us continue our trajectory as we grow to serve our clients even better. I also want to thank Chris for his friendship and leadership over the past two years since I joined the bank. He is a true team player.”

“City National has an incredible story and a compelling client-first business model,” said Bai. “I look forward to joining the team and helping City National continue to grow.”

Prior to joining City National, Bai served as CEO and president of RBC’s Direct Investing team, Canada’s second-largest online brokerage, serving clients who prefer to manage their own investments. Prior to his current role, Bai was the head of RBC’s Wealth Management Finance division, overseeing teams in Canada, the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong. Before that, he led RBC’s Enterprise Performance Management team, overseeing management reporting, forecasting and planning, enterprise-level capital management, enterprise-wide initiatives and macro stress testing. Previous roles include nine years as a senior portfolio manager at Fiera Capital Corporation, a global independent asset management firm, and before that, nearly two years at RBC in Strategy & Corporate Development. He is also a chartered accountant who trained at PwC, and a chartered financial analyst.

Since 2010, Bai has served as chair of the board of CODE Inc. Foundation, which supports Canada’s leading education and literacy-focused international development agency.

Carey has stepped down from his former role after 17 years at the bank. He has helped the bank successfully navigate not only the current financial crisis brought about by the pandemic, but also the Great Recession. He also played a key role in the bank’s merger with RBC in 2015, and he has helped the organization maintain a strong and consistent growth trajectory since he first joined in 2004.

He will remain chair and CEO of RBC US Group Holdings LLC, the intermediate holding company for Royal Bank of Canada’s U.S. operations, including RBC Capital Markets–U.S., RBC Wealth Management–U.S., RBC Global Asset Management–U.S., RBC Bank (Georgia) and City National Bank.

“Chris has been an important member of our senior management team and instrumental in our success and growth for the past 17 years, especially in our years with RBC,” said Russell Goldsmith, chairman of City National. “He has provided invaluable service to our organization and has been a trusted advisor to me, the Board of Directors and so many other colleagues. I wish him great success in this next chapter of his career as chair and CEO of RBC US Group Holdings LLC.”

With 35 years of experience as an executive in the banking industry, Carey joined City National from Cincinnati-based Provident Financial Group Inc. Carey also serves on the board of BrightLine, a provider of advanced TV technology for over-the-top and smart TV advertising opportunities. Passionate about supporting the community, Carey serves on the advisory board for Shatterproof, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the devastation that addiction causes families. In addition, he serves on the board of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, chairs the organization’s Audit Committee and was formerly chair of the board. He also serves on the L.A. Business Leaders Task Force on Homelessness.

For an image of Bai, go to:
https://www.cnb.com/content/dam/media_newsroom/images/John-Bai.jpg

About City National Bank

With $75.8 billion in assets, City National Bank provides banking, investment and trust services through locations in Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, Nevada, New York City, Nashville, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., and Miami*. In addition, the company and its investment affiliates manage or administer $86.3 billion in client investment assets.

City National is a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), one of North America’s leading diversified financial services companies. RBC serves more than 17 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the United States and 34 other countries.

For more information about City National, visit the company’s website at cnb.com.

*City National Bank does business in Miami and the state of Florida as CN Bank.

Media Contact:
Jennifer Harlan, City National Bank, 917-322-0994
[email protected]