The head of Canada’s biggest bank believes it must diversify well beyond financial services to remain directly relevant to customers and survive in a world where big technology groups are encroaching into its markets.  Dave McKay, chief executive of Royal Bank of Canada, will on Wednesday present his strategy to investors for turning the lender into a broader “platform” offering diverse services, from registering a start-up company to helping people rent their house on Airbnb. Talking to the Financial Times before his strategic update, Mr McKay bemoaned how banks were “still on the toaster giveaway game” of offering free gifts to poach customers from each other. He said banks needed to rethink their strategies, or risk being sidelined by companies such as Facebook, Amazon, Alibaba and Tencent. “We have to change the game to meet the long-term threat of platforms.”

https://www.ft.com/content/e70c827c-6f13-11e8-92d3-6c13e5c92914