The Financial Post reports in its Wednesday edition that the sudden exit of RBC's chief financial officer comes at a "critical juncture" for the lender as it tries to absorb the biggest acquisition in its history, says Jefferies analyst John Aiken. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post says the bank fired CFO Nadine Ahn on Friday, saying she had violated its code of conduct by having an undisclosed "close personal relationship" with a colleague who was given preferential treatment, including promotion and pay increases. The news landed barely a week after RBC closed its $13.5-billion purchase of HSBC Canada. On top of the "ambitious integration" of those two entities, the bank has been trying to rein in costs and improve risk controls at its Los Angeles-based City National subsidiary. "Given the importance of the CFO role in managing operational efficiency, we believe that there will be an even greater investor focus on the HSBC integration and improvements in City National's operations," Mr. Aiken said in a note. "We maintain that the following several months are a critical juncture for the bank and the loss of a key senior executive team member at this time is a material loss, regardless of the pedigree of her successor."