Moody’s Investors Services has assigned an issuer rating with a stable outlook to RBC Dexia Investor Services, a joint venture owned 50% by the Royal Bank of Canada and 50% by Dexia Banque Internationale a Luxembourg.

The joint venture’s operations will be conducted mainly by RBC Dexia Investor Services Bank in Luxembourg and RBC Dexia Investor Services Trust in Canada and their respective subsidiaries and branches around the world. Moody’s says that this rating action follows the recent joint announcement by Royal Bank and Dexia that the joint venture to combine their institutional investor services businesses has been completed.

Moody’s noted that the rating of the joint venture factored in the strong commitment and expected support of RBC and of Dexia BIL, the enhanced franchise of RBC Dexia Investor Services based on the combination of both banks’ global securities services operations, the joint venture’s sound pro-forma financial fundamentals, and its low risk profile.

The rating agency said that changes to RBC Dexia Investor Services’ stable rating outlook or to its issuer rating will remain correlated to its parents’ ratings and to their commitment to provide support to the joint-venture. They will also factor in the pace of development of the joint venture in terms of franchise, size, integration with parents, and financial fundamentals.