Negotiations between Royal Bank of Canada and Dexia were one of the worst-kept secrets in the securities services industry. For nearly two years until a deal was announced last June, both sides had batted back and forth, examining alternative structures and looking at every angle before agreeing to join forces in a 50/50 venture to create RBC Dexia Investor Services.

What surprised the industry was not the fact a deal had been struck but the structure of the agreement, which saw the banks committing all their investor services businesses to the venture. This was much deeper than a marketing agreement or alliance and it sent an unequivocal message about the banks' commitment to seeing the new company succeed.