Banks' U.S. and international businesses continued to post strong performance
Global banking receives "high risk" rating, along with securities firms
It makes sense to divest from countries where the bank doesn't have adequate scale
Royal Bank of Canada will report its results for the three-month period ended Jan. 31 on Friday
Bank cites growth in lending and deposit balances and improved margins from higher interest rates
Move enables Scotiabank to reduce risk and reallocate capital to markets in which it has a bigger presence
Consolidation the U.S. bank sector could accelerate
BB&T and SunTrust's US$66 billion merger highlights the potential for more activity in the sector
Changes are out for comment until March 15
Tighter regulation would improve banks' liquidity profiles, a report says