Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
In the wake of the crisis, some Canadian bankers joke that they should print their firms' credit ratings on their business cards.
Maybe it's no joke. As other banks around the world pare back lending to corporations, Canadians are stepping into the breach.
The result is that Royal Bank of Canada , Canada's largest bank, has more than doubled its share of the global syndicated loan market so far in 2012. That puts RBC in 10th spot in the world for bookrunning syndicated loans, up from 19th this time last year.
RBC's global market share now stands at 3.1 per cent, up from 1.2 per cent a year ago. It is now close behind Deutsche Bank AG, which is posting market share declines, according to Thomson Reuters.
Royal Bank cited strong growth in its loan syndication business for driving a solid first-quarter profit in the company's investment banking unit.