Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY) has been recognized by Retail Banker International (RBI) as the Best Retail Bank in North America and Dave McKay, group head, Canadian banking, received the Retail Banker of the Year Award.

The annual RBI awards are well established and highly regarded within the industry as a mark of exceptional performance. RBC was the only Canadian financial institution to win an award, after being shortlisted in five categories.

“RBI recognized RBC as the Best Retail Bank in North America, based on demonstrated high levels of sustainable profitable growth over the past year. Furthermore, this growth was achieved amid an environment of economic uncertainty, low GDP growth, high unemployment and downward pressure on net interest margins across North America,” said Douglas Blakey, editor of Retail Banker International, in a release.

“We were also pleased to award Dave McKay one of the highest individual honours for a retail bank, based on criteria of outstanding performance and leadership,” Blakey added.

RBC Royal Bank also ranked in the top five in the categories of Global Retail Bank of the Year, Best Branch Strategy and Best Online Banking Strategy, a notable achievement in a wide field with just under 300 banks nominated for RBI awards globally.