RBC president and CEO Gordon Nixon to retire next summer

Gordon Nixon, president and CEO of the Royal Bank of Canada, smiles in Calgary, on Feb. 28, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

TORONTO, Ontario -- Royal Bank of Canada president and CEO Gordon Nixon announced Thursday that he will retire on Aug. 1, 2014 after 13 years as head of Canada's largest bank.

Dave McKay, the group head of RBC personal and commercial banking, will be appointed president at the bank's annual meeting on Feb. 26, 2014.

The RBC board of directors will then name him CEO effective Aug. 1, 2014, the bank announced along with its fourth-quarter financial results.

Bank chairman David O'Brien says Nixon has had a "remarkable career" at RBC and earnings and market share have increased significantly during his tenure.

O'Brien also noted that Nixon has led the bank to strong earnings growth during the "most challenging financial crisis since the Great Depression."

Under Nixon, said O`Brien, RBC earnings have grown from $2.4 billion to $8.4 billion, and generated compounded total return to shareholders of 13.5 per cent a year.

"I am confident that Dave McKay's outstanding leadership and financial services experience will continue to drive RBC's industry leadership and growth," said Nixon in a statement.