Royal Bank of Canada, the country's biggest bank, beat quarterly profit expectations, helped by its acquisition of HSBC's domestic business and strength at its wealth management arm, sending shares to a record high on Wednesday.

RBC beats analyst forecasts for the fourth quarter and full year on solid average volume growth and higher spreads in retail and commercial banking and higher corporate & investment banking revenue in

Royal Bank of Canada on Wednesday reported higher fourth-quarter profits than it did last year, exceeding analyst expectations. On an adjusted basis, the bank earned $4.4 billion, up 18 per cent from a year ago,

Royal Bank of Canada, the country's top bank by market value, reported fourth-quarter profit above analyst expectations helped by its acquisition of HSBC's domestic business this year and strength at its wealth management division.

In October, the Bank of Canada cut interest rates for the fourth time in a row, marking a shift towards a low inflation era, and boosting banks' loan growth as lower rates prompt consumers to take more loans.