Royal Bank of Canada said Friday the strengthening Canadian dollar took its toll, helping reduce second quarter earnings by 3% from a year ago.

The bank announced net income of $689 million for its second quarter ended April 30, down $21 million from last year, while diluted earnings per share were off 2¢ or 2%, to 99¢. Return on equity was 15.4% vs 16.8% a year ago.

The bank said a 9% appreciation of the C$ relative to the U.S. dollar (to an average of US$.684 in the second quarter from an average of US$.630 in last year’s second quarter) resulted in a lower translated value of U.S. dollar-denominated earnings, reducing net income by $15 million, diluted earnings per share by 2¢ and return on equity by 0.4%. The movement of the C$ dollar relative to major currencies other than the U.S. dollar had a minimal impact on the change in earnings this quarter compared to a year ago.

“We delivered reasonable results this quarter, considering continued weakness in capital markets and intense price competition in Canadian personal and commercial banking,” said president and CEO Gordon M. Nixon in a statement.

Total revenues were down $163 million or 4% to $3.7 billion from a year ago, reflecting a $75-million net gain on credit derivatives (relating to two telecommunication sector accounts) that was recorded in last year’s second quarter and a $98-million decline in revenues this quarter due to the appreciation of the C$ relative to the US$.

Nixon said the bank plans to continue to focus on boosting the performance of its U.S. acquisitions, RBC Centura, RBC Dain Rauscher and RBC Liberty Insurance. Net income from U.S. acquisitions increased to $58 million from $35 million a year ago due to better results from RBC Dain Rauscher.

Since it began its push in to the U.S. three years ago, the bank has completed 10 acquisitions and increased its total client base by 2.4 million. Nixon said the expansion will continue.

“To achieve our goal of being recognized as a ‘best in class provider’ of banking and wealth management services in the U.S., we must continue to add to our existing business base, Nixon said. “To this end, we continue to evaluate acquisition opportunities, particularly in personal and commercial banking, and we are moving ahead with retail bank branch openings in the southeastern U.S.”