Royal Bank of Canada remains committed to the U.S. banking industry, the head of Canada’s biggest bank said yesterday.

Speaking at the Scotiabank Financials Summit, RBC chief executive Gordon Nixon said he is on the lookout for “small to mid-sized” brokerages as part of a plan to build on the bank’s flagging U.S. investments.

“The financial results from RBC mortgage and from the overall U.S. business remain well below targeted levels,” Nixon told the meeting of Bay Street analysts.

“We are intensely focused on turning this around.”

Any acquisitions would be through Royal’s Dain Rauscher investment bank and asset management unit, which will be looking to hire more brokers, Nixon said

Although talk of U.S. expansion dominated much of the summit, CIBC chief John Hunkin kept his remarks focused on CIBC’s his bank’s wealth management strategy.

Toronto Dominion Bank chief executive Ed Clark, who last month announced a $3.8 billion deal to buy a 51% stake in Maine’s BankNorth Group Inc., said TD will not try to impose its will on the new purchase.

Bank of Montreal chief executive Tony Comper touted BMO’s success with its Harris Bank of Chicago. He said he plans more purchases throughout Illinois.

“We have an established and growing mid-market presence in the Midwest,” he said.

Comper said BMO would look at acquisition targets in states neighbouring Illinois if they fit with the business plan for Harris, but added that the priority would remain the bank’s home state.

Bank of Nova Scotia chief Richard Waugh said his bank will continue to look for acquisition targets in Latin America and the Caribbean rather than the U.S., using the bank’s presence in dozens of markets to find the best deals.

“We will be opportunistic,” he said. “Being opportunistic means being aware of all the opportunities in our target markets.”

He said the main emphasis will likely be Mexico, through its Grupo Financiero Scotiabank Inverlat SA subsidiary.