424B2 1 ef20029668_424b2.htm PS SPBELN762-BSKT 78017FZK2

Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2)
Registration Statement No. 333-275898

Royal Bank of Canada
$2,383,000
Leveraged Buffered Basket-Linked Notes, due March 6, 2026
The notes will not bear interest. The amount that you will be paid on your notes on the stated maturity date (March 6, 2026, subject to adjustment) is based on the performance of a weighted basket comprised of the EURO STOXX 50® Index (38% weighting), the TOPIX® (26% weighting), the FTSE® 100 Index (17% weighting), the Swiss Market Index (11% weighting) and the S&P®/ASX 200 Index (8% weighting) as measured from the trade date (May 21, 2024) to and including the determination date (March 4, 2026, subject to adjustment). The initial basket level is 100, and the final basket level will equal the sum of the products, as calculated for each basket underlier, of (i) the final index level for such basket underlier divided by (ii) the initial index level for such basket underlier (5,046.99 with respect to the EURO STOXX 50® Index, 2,759.72 with respect to the TOPIX®, 8,416.45 with respect to the FTSE® 100 Index, 12,001.50 with respect to the Swiss Market Index, and 7,851.676 with respect to the S&P®/ASX 200 Index) multiplied by (iii) the applicable initial weighted value for such basket underlier. If the final basket level on the determination date is greater than the initial basket level, the return on your notes will be positive, subject to the maximum settlement amount of $1,268.00 for each $1,000 principal amount of the notes. If the final basket level declines by up to 15.00% from the initial basket level, you will receive the face amount of the notes. If the final basket level declines by more than 15.00% from the initial basket level, the return on your notes will be negative. You could lose your entire investment in the notes.
To determine your payment at maturity, we will calculate the basket return, which is the percentage increase or decrease in the final basket level from the initial basket level. On the stated maturity date, for each $1,000 principal amount of your notes, you will receive an amount in cash equal to:
if the basket return is positive (the final basket level is greater than the initial basket level), the sum of (i) $1,000 plus (ii) the product of (a) $1,000 times (b) the upside participation rate of 250% times (c) the basket return, subject to the maximum settlement amount; or
if the basket return is zero or negative but not below -15.00% (the final basket level is equal to or less than the initial basket level but not by more than 15.00%), $1,000; or
if the basket return is negative and is below -15.00% (the final basket level is less than the initial basket level by more than 15.00%), the sum of (i) $1,000 plus (ii) the product of (a) 100/85.00 (which is approximately 1.1765) times (b) the sum of the basket return plus 15.00% times (c) $1,000. This amount will be less than $1,000.
Our initial estimated value of the notes as of the trade date was $990.89 per $1,000 in principal amount, which is less than the original issue price. The actual value of the notes at any time will reflect many factors, cannot be predicted with accuracy, and may be less than this amount. We describe our determination of the initial estimated value in more detail below.
Declines in one basket underlier may offset increases in the other basket underliers. Due to the unequal weighting of each basket underlier, the performances of the EURO STOXX 50® Index and the TOPIX® will have a significantly larger impact on your return on the notes than the performance of the FTSE® 100 Index, the Swiss Market Index or the S&P®/ASX 200 Index. Your investment in the notes involves certain additional risks, including, among other things, our credit risk. See the section “Additional Risk Factors Specific to Your Notes” beginning on page PS-10 of this pricing supplement.
The foregoing is only a brief summary of the terms of your notes. You should read the additional disclosure provided in this pricing supplement so that you may better understand the terms and risks of your investment.
Original issue date:
May 29, 2024
Original issue price:
100.00% of the principal amount
Underwriting discount:
0.00% of the principal amount
Net proceeds to the issuer:
100.00% of the principal amount

See “Supplemental Plan of Distribution (Conflicts of Interest)” on page PS-39 of this pricing supplement.
The issue price, underwriting discount and net proceeds listed above relate to the notes we sell initially. We may decide to sell additional notes after the date of this pricing supplement, at issue prices and with underwriting discounts and net proceeds that differ from the amounts set forth above. The return (whether positive or negative) on your investment in the notes will depend in part on the issue price you pay for such notes.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of the notes or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this pricing supplement, the accompanying product prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. The notes will not constitute deposits that are insured by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation, the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other Canadian or U.S. governmental agency or instrumentality. The notes are not subject to conversion into our common shares under subsection 39.2(2.3) of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act.

RBC Capital Markets, LLC
Pricing Supplement dated May 21, 2024.


SUMMARY INFORMATION
 
We refer to the notes we are offering by this pricing supplement as the “offered notes” or the “notes.” Each of the offered notes, including your notes, has the terms described below. Please note that in this pricing supplement, references to “Royal Bank of Canada,” the “Bank,” “we,” “our” and “us” mean only Royal Bank of Canada and all references to “$” or “dollar” are to United States dollars. Also, references to the “accompanying prospectus” mean the accompanying prospectus, dated December 20, 2023, as supplemented by the accompanying prospectus supplement, dated December 20, 2023, of Royal Bank of Canada relating to the Senior Medium-Term Notes, Series J program of Royal Bank of Canada and references to the “accompanying product prospectus supplement PB-1” mean the accompanying product prospectus supplement PB-1, dated December 20, 2023, of Royal Bank of Canada.
This section is meant as a summary and should be read in conjunction with the section entitled “General Terms of the Notes” beginning on page PS-4 of the accompanying product prospectus supplement PB-1. Please note that certain features described in the accompanying product prospectus supplement PB-1 are not applicable to the notes. This pricing supplement supersedes any conflicting provisions of the accompanying product prospectus supplement PB-1.
 
Key Terms
Issuer: Royal Bank of Canada
Basket underliers: the EURO STOXX 50® Index (Bloomberg symbol, “SX5E Index”), as published by STOXX Limited (“STOXX”); the TOPIX® (Bloomberg symbol, “TPX Index”), as maintained by JPX Market Innovation & Research, Inc. (“JPXI”); the FTSE® 100 Index (Bloomberg symbol, “UKX Index”), as published by FTSE Russell (“FTSE”); the Swiss Market Index (Bloomberg symbol, “SMI Index”), as published by SIX Group Ltd. (“SIX Group”); and the S&P®/ASX 200 Index (Bloomberg symbol, “AS51 Index”), as published by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (“S&P”). See “The Basket and the Basket Underliers” on page PS-17
Specified currency: U.S. dollars (“$”)
Denominations: $1,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess of $1,000. The notes may only be transferred in amounts of $1,000 and increments of $1,000 thereafter
Principal amount: each note will have a principal amount of $1,000; $2,383,000 in the aggregate for all the offered notes; the aggregate principal amount of the offered notes may be increased if the issuer, at its sole option, decides to sell an additional amount of the offered notes on a date subsequent to the date of this pricing supplement
Purchase at amount other than principal amount: the amount we will pay you at the stated maturity date for your notes will not be adjusted based on the issue price you pay for your notes, so if you acquire notes at a premium (or discount) to principal amount and hold them to the stated maturity date, it could affect your investment in a number of ways. The return on your investment in such notes will be lower (or higher) than it would have been had you purchased the notes at a price equal to the principal amount. Also, the buffer level would not offer the same measure of protection to your investment as would be the case if you had purchased the notes at the principal amount. Additionally, the cap level would be triggered at a lower (or higher) percentage return than indicated below, relative to your initial investment. See “—If the Original Issue Price for Your Notes Represents a Premium to the Principal Amount, the Return on Your Notes Will Be Lower Than the Return on Notes for Which the Original Issue Price Is Equal to the Principal Amount or Represents a Discount to the Principal Amount” on page PS-15 of this pricing supplement
Cash settlement amount (on the stated maturity date): for each $1,000 principal amount of your notes, we will pay you on the stated maturity date an amount in cash equal to:
if the final basket level is greater than or equal to the cap level, the maximum settlement amount;
if the final basket level is greater than the initial basket level but less than the cap level, the sum of (1) $1,000 plus (2) the product of (i) $1,000 times (ii) the upside participation rate times (iii) the basket return;
if the final basket level is equal to or less than the initial basket level but greater than or equal to the buffer level, $1,000; or
if the final basket level is less than the buffer level, the sum of (1) $1,000 plus (2) the product of (i) the buffer rate  times (ii) the sum of the basket return plus the buffer amount times (iii) $1,000. In this case, the cash settlement amount will be less than the principal amount of the notes, and you will lose some or all of the principal amount.
Initial basket level: 100.00
Initial weighted value: the initial weighted value for each of the basket underliers equals the product of the initial weight of such basket underlier times the initial basket level. The initial weight of each basket underlier is shown in the table below:
 
Basket Underlier
 
Initial Weight in Basket
 
Initial Index Level
 
EURO STOXX 50® Index
 
38.00%
 
5,046.99
 
TOPIX®
 
26.00%
 
2,759.72
 
FTSE® 100 Index
 
17.00%
 
8,416.45
 
Swiss Market Index
 
11.00%
 
12,001.50
 
S&P®/ASX 200 Index
 
8.00%
 
7,851.676

Initial index level: the initial index level of each basket underlier is set forth in the table above
Final index level: the closing level of each basket underlier on the determination date, except in the limited circumstances described under “— Determination date” and “— Consequences of a market disruption event or a non-trading day” below

PS-2

and subject to adjustment as provided under “General Terms of the Notes — Unavailability of the Level of the Underlier” on page PS-6 of the accompanying product prospectus supplement PB-1
Final basket level: the sum of the following: (1) the final index level of the EURO STOXX 50® Index divided by the initial index level of the EURO STOXX 50® Index, multiplied by the initial weighted value of the EURO STOXX 50® Index plus (2) the final index level of the TOPIX® divided by the initial index level of the TOPIX®, multiplied by the initial weighted value of the TOPIX® plus (3) the final index level of the FTSE® 100 Index divided by the initial index level of the FTSE® 100 Index, multiplied by the initial weighted value of the FTSE® 100 Index plus (4) the final index level of the Swiss Market Index divided by the initial index level of the Swiss Market Index, multiplied by the initial weighted value of the Swiss Market Index plus (5) the final index level of the S&P®/ASX 200 Index divided by the initial index level of the S&P®/ASX 200 Index, multiplied by the initial weighted value of the S&P®/ASX 200 Index
Basket return: the quotient of (1) the final basket level minus the initial basket level divided by (2) the initial basket level, expressed as a percentage
Upside participation rate: 250%
Cap level: 110.72% of the initial basket level
Maximum settlement amount: $1,268.00 for each $1,000 principal amount of the notes
Buffer level: 85.00% of the initial basket level (equal to a basket return of -15.00%)
Buffer amount: 15.00%
Buffer rate: the quotient of the initial basket level divided by the buffer level, which equals approximately 117.65%
Trade date: May 21, 2024
Original issue date (settlement date): May 29, 2024
Determination date: March 4, 2026, provided that, if the calculation agent determines that a market disruption event with respect to a basket underlier occurs or is continuing on such day or such day is not a trading day with respect to a basket underlier, the determination date will be the first following trading day on which the calculation agent determines that, on or subsequent to such originally scheduled determination date, each basket underlier has had at least one trading day on which no market disruption event has occurred or is continuing and the closing level of each of the basket underliers will be determined on or prior to the postponed determination date as set forth under “— Consequences of a market disruption event or a non-trading day” below. (In such case, the determination date may differ from the dates on which the levels of one or more basket underliers are determined for the purpose of the calculations to be performed on the determination date.) However, the determination date will not be postponed to a date later than the originally scheduled stated maturity date or, if the originally scheduled stated maturity date is not a business day, later than the first business day after the originally scheduled stated maturity date. On such last possible determination date, if a market disruption event occurs or is continuing with respect to a basket underlier that has not yet had such a trading day on which no market disruption event has occurred or is continuing or if such last possible day is not a trading day with respect to such basket underlier, that day will nevertheless be the determination date
Stated maturity date: March 6, 2026, unless that date is not a business day, in which case the stated maturity date will be postponed to the next following business day. The stated maturity date will also be postponed if determination date is postponed as described under “— Determination date” above. In such a case, the stated maturity date will be postponed by the same number of business day(s) from but excluding the originally scheduled determination date to and including the actual determination date
Consequences of a market disruption event or a non-trading day: if a market disruption event with respect to any basket underlier occurs or is continuing on a day that would otherwise be the determination date, or such day is not a trading day, then the determination date will be postponed as described under “— Determination date” above. As a result of any of the foregoing, the stated maturity date may also be postponed, as described under “ — Stated maturity date” above. If the determination date is postponed due to a market disruption event or non-trading day with respect to one or more of the basket underliers, the basket closing level for the postponed determination date will be calculated based on (i) the closing level of each of the basket underliers that is not affected by the market disruption event or non-trading day, if any, on the originally scheduled determination date with respect to each such basket underlier, if any, (ii) the closing level of each of the basket underliers that is affected by the market disruption event or non-trading day on the first trading day following the originally scheduled determination date on which no market disruption event exists for that basket underlier, and (iii) the calculation agent’s assessment, in its sole discretion, of the closing level of each basket underlier on the last possible postponed determination date with respect to each basket underlier as to which a market disruption event or non-trading day continues through the last possible postponed determination date. As a result, this could result in the closing level of differing basket underliers being determined on different calendar dates. For the avoidance of doubt, once the closing level for one or more basket underliers is determined for a determination date, the occurrence of a later market disruption event or non-trading day will not alter such calculation
No interest: the offered notes will not bear interest
No listing: the offered notes will not be listed on any securities exchange or interdealer quotation system
No redemption: the notes are not subject to redemption prior to maturity

PS-3

Closing level: the official closing level of the applicable basket underlier or any successor basket underlier published by the applicable basket underlier sponsor on such trading day for that basket underlier
Business day: as described under “General Terms of the Notes — Special Calculation Provisions — Business Day” on page PS-11 of the accompanying product prospectus supplement PB-1
Use of proceeds and hedging: as described under “Use of Proceeds and Hedging” on page PS-14 of the accompanying product prospectus supplement PB-1
ERISA: as described under “Benefit Plan Investor Considerations” on page 61 of the accompanying prospectus
Calculation agent: RBC Capital Markets, LLC (“RBCCM”)
Dealer: RBCCM
Market disruption events: as to each basket underlier, the term “market disruption event” is defined in the section of the product supplement entitled “General Terms of the Notes — Market Disruption Events,” and the consequences of a market disruption event (and non-trading day) are described under “—Determination date,” “—Stated maturity date” and “Consequences of a market disruption event or a non-trading day” above. For the avoidance of doubt, a market disruption event (or non-trading day) as to any basket underlier on the determination date will only result in a postponement of the determination date as to the relevant basket underlier(s), and not as to any basket underlier that is not so affected
Trading day: as to each basket underlier, the term “trading day” is defined in the section of the product supplement entitled “General Terms of the Notes—Special Calculation Provisions—Trading Day—Indices”
U.S. tax treatment: by purchasing a note, each holder agrees (in the absence of a change in law, an administrative determination or a judicial ruling to the contrary) to treat the note as a pre-paid cash-settled derivative contract for U.S. federal income tax purposes. However, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of your investment in the notes are uncertain and the Internal Revenue Service could assert that the notes should be taxed in a manner that is different from that described in the preceding sentence. Please see the discussion in the accompanying prospectus under “Tax Consequences,” the discussion in the accompanying prospectus supplement under “Certain Income Tax Consequences,” and the discussion (including the opinion of Ashurst LLP, our special U.S. tax counsel) in the accompanying product prospectus supplement PB-1 under “Supplemental Discussion of U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences,” and the discussion below under “Supplemental Discussion of U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences,” which apply to the notes.
Canadian tax treatment: for a discussion of certain Canadian federal income tax consequences of investing in the notes, please see the section entitled “Tax Consequences – Canadian Taxation” in the accompanying prospectus
CUSIP no.: 78017FZK2
ISIN no.: US78017FZK29
FDIC: the notes will not constitute deposits that are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other Canadian or U.S. governmental agency
Indenture: the notes will be issued under our senior debt indenture, as amended and supplemented through June 22, 2023, which is described in the accompanying prospectus. Please see the section “Description of Debt Securities” beginning on page 4 of the prospectus for a description of the senior debt indenture, including the limited circumstances that would constitute an event of default under the notes that we are offering

PS-4

HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLES
The following table and chart are provided for purposes of illustration only. They should not be taken as an indication or prediction of future investment results and are intended merely to illustrate the impact that various hypothetical final basket levels on the determination date could have on the cash settlement amount at maturity, assuming all other variables remain constant.
The examples below are based on a range of final basket levels that are entirely hypothetical. No one can predict what the basket level will be on any day during the term of your notes, and no one can predict what the final basket level will be. The basket underliers have been highly volatile in the past—meaning that the level of each basket underlier has changed considerably in relatively short periods—and its performance cannot be predicted for any future period.
The information in the following examples reflects hypothetical rates of return on the notes assuming that they are purchased on the original issue date with a $1,000 principal amount and are held to maturity. If you sell your notes in any secondary market prior to maturity, your return will depend upon the market value of your notes at the time of sale, which may be affected by a number of factors that are not reflected in the table below, such as interest rates and the volatility of the basket underliers. In addition, assuming no changes in market conditions or our creditworthiness and any other relevant factors, the value of your notes on the trade date (as determined by reference to pricing models used by RBCCM and taking into account our credit spreads) is, and the price you may receive for your notes may be, significantly less than the principal amount. For more information on the value of your notes in the secondary market, see “Additional Risk Factors Specific to Your Notes — Risks Relating to the Initial Estimated Value of the Notes — The Price, if Any, at Which You May Be Able to Sell Your Notes Prior to Maturity May Be Less than the Original Issue Price and Our Initial Estimated Value” below. The information in the table also reflects the key terms and assumptions in the box below.

Key Terms and Assumptions
 
 
Principal amount
$1,000
 
 
Upside participation rate
250%
 
 
Cap level
110.72% of the initial basket level
 
 
Maximum settlement amount
$1,268.00
 
 
Buffer level
85.00% of the initial basket level
 
 
Buffer rate
, which equals approximately 117.65%
 
 
Buffer amount
15.00%
 
 
Neither a market disruption event nor a non-trading day occurs on the originally scheduled determination date
 
No change affecting the methods by which the basket underlier sponsors calculate the basket underliers
 
Notes purchased on original issue date at a price equal to the principal amount and held to the stated maturity date
 
 
The actual performance of the basket over the term of your notes, as well as the amount payable at maturity, if any, may bear little relation to the hypothetical examples shown below or to the historical level of each basket underlier shown elsewhere in this pricing supplement. For information about the historical levels of each basket underlier during recent periods, see “The Basket and the Basket Underliers—Historical Performance of the Basket Underliers” below. Before investing in the notes, you should consult publicly available information to determine the levels of the basket underliers between the date of this pricing supplement and the date of your purchase of the notes.
Also, the hypothetical examples shown below do not take into account the effects of applicable taxes. Because of the U.S. tax treatment applicable to your notes, tax liabilities could affect the after-tax rate of return on your notes to a comparatively greater extent than the after-tax return on the stocks included in the basket underliers (the “underlier stocks”).
The levels in the left column of the table below represent hypothetical final basket levels and are expressed as percentages of the initial basket level. The amounts in the right column represent the hypothetical cash settlement amounts, based on the corresponding hypothetical final basket level (expressed as a percentage of the initial basket level), and are expressed as percentages of the principal amount of a note (rounded to the nearest one-thousandth of a percent). Thus, a hypothetical cash settlement amount of 100.000% means that the value of the cash payment that we would deliver for each $1,000 principal amount of the notes at maturity would equal the principal amount of a note, based on the corresponding hypothetical final basket level (expressed as a percentage of the initial basket level) and the assumptions noted above.

PS-5

Hypothetical Final Basket Level (as a Percentage of the
Initial Basket Level)
Hypothetical Cash Settlement Amount (as a Percentage
of the Principal Amount)
160.000%
126.800%
150.000%
126.800%
140.000%
126.800%
130.000%
126.800%
120.000%
126.800%
110.720%
126.800%
110.000%
125.000%
105.000%
112.500%
100.000%
100.000%
95.000%
100.000%
90.000%
100.000%
85.000%
100.000%
80.000%
94.118%
75.000%
88.235%
50.000%
58.824%
25.000%
29.412%
0.000%
0.000%

If, for example, the final basket level were determined to be 25.000% of the initial basket level, the cash settlement amount that we would deliver on your notes at maturity would be approximately 29.412% of the principal amount of your notes, as shown in the hypothetical cash settlement amount column of the table above. As a result, if you purchased your notes at the principal amount on the settlement date and held them to maturity, you would lose approximately 70.588% of your investment.
If the final basket level were determined to be 160.000% of the initial basket level, the cash settlement amount that we would deliver on your notes at maturity would be capped at the maximum settlement amount (expressed as a percentage of the principal amount), or 126.800% of the principal amount of your notes, as shown in the hypothetical cash settlement amount column of the table above. As a result, if you purchased your notes at the principal amount on the settlement date and held them to maturity, you would not benefit from any increase in the final basket level over 110.720% of the initial basket level.

PS-6

The following chart also illustrates the hypothetical cash settlement amounts (expressed as a percentage of the principal amount of your notes) that we would pay on your notes on the stated maturity date, if the final basket level (expressed as a percentage of the initial basket level) were any of the hypothetical levels shown on the horizontal axis. The chart shows that any hypothetical final basket level (expressed as a percentage of the initial basket level) of less than the buffer level would result in a hypothetical cash settlement amount of less than 100.00% of the principal amount of your notes (the section below the 100.00% marker on the vertical axis) and, accordingly, in a loss of principal to the holder of the notes. On the other hand, any hypothetical final basket level that is greater than the initial basket level (the section right of the 100.00% marker on the horizontal axis) would result in a hypothetical cash settlement amount that is greater than 100.00% of the principal amount of your notes on a leveraged basis (the section above the 100.00% marker on the vertical axis), subject to the maximum settlement amount.
The Note Performance
 
■ The Basket Performance

The following examples illustrate the hypothetical cash settlement amount at maturity, on each note based on hypothetical final index levels of the basket underliers, calculated based on the key terms and assumptions above. The levels in Column A represent the hypothetical initial index level for each basket underlier, and the levels in Column B represent hypothetical final index levels for each basket underlier. The percentages in Column C represent hypothetical final index levels for each basket underlier in Column B expressed as percentages of the corresponding hypothetical initial index levels in Column A. The amounts in Column D represent the applicable initial weighted value for each basket underlier, and the amounts in Column E represent the products of the percentages in Column C times the corresponding amounts in Column D. The final basket level for each example is shown beneath each example, and will equal the sum of the five products shown in Column E. The basket return for each example is shown beneath the final basket level for such example, and will equal the quotient of (i) the final basket level for such example minus the initial basket level divided by (ii) the initial basket level, expressed as a percentage. The values below may be rounded for ease of analysis.
The hypothetical initial index level for each basket underlier of 100.00 has been chosen for illustrative purposes only and does not represent the actual initial index level for that basket underlier. For historical data regarding the actual historical levels of the basket underliers, please see the historical information set forth below under “The Basket and the Basket Underliers.”

PS-7

Example 1: The final basket level is greater than the cap level. The cash settlement amount equals the maximum settlement amount.
   
Column A
 
Column B
 
Column C
 
Column D
 
Column E
                     
Basket Underlier
 
Hypothetical
Initial Index
Level
 
Hypothetical
Final Index
Level
 
Column
B/Column A
 
Initial
Weighted
Value
 
Column C x
Column D
EURO STOXX 50® Index
 
100.00
 
140.00
 
140.00%
 
38.00
 
53.20
TOPIX®
 
100.00
 
140.00
 
140.00%
 
26.00
 
36.40
FTSE® 100 Index
 
100.00
 
140.00
 
140.00%
 
17.00
 
23.80
Swiss Market Index
 
100.00
 
140.00
 
140.00%
 
11.00
 
15.40
S&P®/ASX 200 Index
 
100.00
 
140.00
 
140.00%
 
8.00
 
11.20
             

Final Basket Level:
 
140.00
             

Basket Return:
 
40.00%
In this example, all of the hypothetical final index levels for the basket underliers are greater than the applicable hypothetical initial index levels, which results in the hypothetical final basket level being greater than the initial basket level of 100.00. Since the hypothetical final basket level was determined to be 140.00, the hypothetical cash settlement amount that we would deliver on your notes at maturity would be capped at the maximum settlement amount of $1,268.00 for each $1,000 face amount of your notes (i.e., 126.800% of each $1,000 face amount of your notes).
Example 2: The final basket level is greater than the initial basket level but less than the cap level.
   
Column A
 
Column B
 
Column C
 
Column D
 
Column E
                     
Basket Underlier
 
Hypothetical
Initial Index
Level
 
Hypothetical
Final Index
Level
 
Column
B/Column A
 
Initial
Weighted
Value
 
Column C x
Column D
EURO STOXX 50® Index
 
100.00
 
101.00
 
101.00%
 
38.00
 
38.38
TOPIX®
 
100.00
 
101.00
 
101.00%
 
26.00
 
26.26
FTSE® 100 Index
 
100.00
 
101.00
 
101.00%
 
17.00
 
17.17
Swiss Market Index
 
100.00
 
101.00
 
101.00%
 
11.00
 
11.11
S&P®/ASX 200 Index
 
100.00
 
101.00
 
101.00%
 
8.00
 
8.08
             

Final Basket Level:
 
101.00
             

Basket Return:
 
1.00%
In this example, all of the hypothetical final index levels for the basket underliers are greater than the applicable hypothetical initial index levels, which results in the hypothetical final basket level being greater than the initial basket level of 100.00. Since the hypothetical final basket level was determined to be 101.00, the hypothetical cash settlement amount for each $1,000 face amount of your notes will equal:
Cash settlement amount = $1,000 + ($1,000 × 250% × 1.00%) = $1,025.00
Example 3: The final basket level is less than the initial basket level but greater than the buffer level. The cash settlement amount is equal to the $1,000 face amount.
   
Column A
 
Column B
 
Column C
 
Column D
 
Column E
                     
Basket Underlier
 
Hypothetical
Initial Index
Level
 
Hypothetical
Final Index
Level
 
Column
B/Column A
 
Initial
Weighted
Value
 
Column C x
Column D
EURO STOXX 50® Index
 
100.00
 
98.00
 
98.00%
 
38.00
 
37.24
TOPIX®
 
100.00
 
98.00
 
98.00%
 
26.00
 
25.48
FTSE® 100 Index
 
100.00
 
98.00
 
98.00%
 
17.00
 
16.66
Swiss Market Index
 
100.00
 
98.00
 
98.00%
 
11.00
 
10.78
S&P®/ASX 200 Index
 
100.00
 
98.00
 
98.00%
 
8.00
 
7.84
             

Final Basket Level:
 
98.00
             

Basket Return:
 
-2.00%
In this example, all of the hypothetical final index levels for the basket underliers are less than the applicable hypothetical initial index levels, which results in the hypothetical final basket level being less than the initial basket level of 100.00. Since the hypothetical final basket level of 98.00 is greater than the buffer level of 85.00% of the initial basket level but less than the initial basket level of 100.00, the hypothetical cash settlement amount for each $1,000 face amount of your notes will equal the face amount of the note, or $1,000.

PS-8

Example 4: The final basket level is less than the buffer level. The cash settlement amount is less than the $1,000 face amount.
   
Column A
 
Column B
 
Column C
 
Column D
 
Column E
                     
Basket Underlier
 
Hypothetical
Initial Index
Level
 
Hypothetical
Final Index
Level
 
Column
B/Column A
 
Initial
Weighted
Value
 
Column C x
Column D
EURO STOXX 50® Index
 
100.00
 
40.00
 
40.00%
 
38.00
 
15.20
TOPIX®
 
100.00
 
70.00
 
70.00%
 
26.00
 
18.20
FTSE® 100 Index
 
100.00
 
100.00
 
100.00%
 
17.00
 
17.00
Swiss Market Index
 
100.00
 
115.00
 
115.00%
 
11.00
 
12.65
S&P®/ASX 200 Index
 
100.00
 
115.00
 
115.00%
 
8.00
 
9.20
             

Final Basket Level:
 
72.25
             

Basket Return:
 
-27.75%
In this example, the hypothetical final index levels of the EURO STOXX 50® Index and the TOPIX® are less than their applicable hypothetical initial index levels, while the hypothetical final index level of the FTSE® 100 Index is equal to its applicable hypothetical initial index level and the hypothetical final index levels of the Swiss Market Index and the S&P®/ASX 200 Index are greater than their applicable hypothetical initial index levels.
Because the basket is unequally weighted, increases in the lower weighted basket underliers will be offset by decreases in the more heavily weighted basket underliers. In this example, the large declines in the EURO STOXX 50® Index and the TOPIX® result in the hypothetical final basket level being less than the buffer level of 85.00% of the initial basket level, even though the FTSE® 100 Index remained flat and the Swiss Market Index and the S&P®/ASX 200 Index increased.
Since the hypothetical final basket level of 72.25 is less than the buffer level of 85.00% of the initial basket level, the hypothetical cash settlement amount for each $1,000 face amount of your notes will equal:
Cash settlement amount = $1,000 + ($1,000 × 117.65% × (-27.75% + 15.00%)) = $850.00
Example 5: The final basket level is less than the buffer level. The cash settlement amount is less than the $1,000 face amount.
   
Column A
 
Column B
 
Column C
 
Column D
 
Column E
                     
Basket Underlier
 
Hypothetical
Initial Index
Level
 
Hypothetical
Final Index
Level
 
Column
B/Column A
 
Initial
Weighted
Value
 
Column C x
Column D
EURO STOXX 50® Index
 
100.00
 
50.00
 
50.00%
 
38.00
 
19.00
TOPIX®
 
100.00
 
63.00
 
63.00%
 
26.00
 
16.38
FTSE® 100 Index
 
100.00
 
44.00
 
44.00%
 
17.00
 
7.48
Swiss Market Index
 
100.00
 
62.00
 
62.00%
 
11.00
 
6.82
S&P®/ASX 200 Index
 
100.00
 
55.00
 
55.00%
 
8.00
 
4.40
             
Final Basket Level:
 
54.08
             
Basket Return:
 
-45.92%
In this example, the hypothetical final index levels for all of the basket underliers are less than the applicable hypothetical initial index levels, which results in the hypothetical final basket level being less than the initial basket level of 100.00. Since the hypothetical final basket level of 54.08 is less than the buffer level of 85.00% of the initial basket level, the hypothetical cash settlement amount for each $1,000 face amount of your notes will equal:
Cash settlement amount = $1,000 + ($1,000 × 117.65% × (-45.92% + 15.00%)) = $636.24
No one can predict the final basket level. The actual amount that a holder of the notes will receive at maturity and the actual return on your investment in the notes, if any, will depend on the actual final basket level, which will be determined by the calculation agent as described below. In addition, the actual return on your notes will further depend on the original issue price. Moreover, the assumptions on which the hypothetical tables, chart and examples are based may turn out to be inaccurate. Consequently, the return on your investment in the notes, if any, and the actual cash settlement amount to be paid in respect of the notes at maturity may be very different from the information reflected in the tables, chart and examples above.

PS-9

ADDITIONAL RISK FACTORS SPECIFIC TO YOUR NOTES
 
An investment in your notes is subject to the risks described below, as well as the risks described under “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-3 of the accompanying prospectus supplement and page 1 of the accompanying prospectus. You should carefully review these risks as well as the terms of the notes described herein and in the accompanying prospectus, dated December 20, 2023, as supplemented by the accompanying prospectus supplement, dated December 20, 2023, and the accompanying product prospectus supplement PB-1, dated December 20, 2023, of Royal Bank of Canada. Your notes are a riskier investment than ordinary debt securities. Also, your notes are not equivalent to investing directly in the underlier stocks, i.e., the stocks included in the basket underliers. You should carefully consider whether the offered notes are suited to your particular circumstances.
 

Risks Relating to the Terms of the Notes
You May Lose Your Entire Investment in the Notes
The principal amount of your investment is not protected and you may lose a significant amount, or even all of your investment in the notes. The cash settlement amount, if any, will depend on the performance of the basket underliers and the change in their levels from the trade date to the determination date, and you may receive significantly less than the principal amount of the notes. Subject to our credit risk, you will receive at least the principal amount of the notes at maturity only if the final basket level is greater than or equal to the buffer level. If the final basket level is less than the buffer level, then you will lose, for each $1,000 in principal amount of the notes, an amount equal to the product of (i) the buffer rate times (ii) the sum of basket return plus the buffer amount times (iii) $1,000. You could lose some or all of the principal amount. Thus, depending on the final basket level, you could lose a substantial portion, and perhaps all, of your investment in the notes, which would include any premium to the principal amount you may have paid when you purchased the notes.
In addition, if the notes are not held until maturity, assuming no changes in market conditions or to our creditworthiness and other relevant factors, the price you may receive for the notes may be significantly less than the price that you paid for them.
Your Notes Will Not Bear Interest
You will not receive any interest payments on the notes. Even if the amount payable on the notes at maturity exceeds the principal amount of the notes, the overall return you earn on the notes may be less than you would otherwise have earned by investing in a non-indexed debt security of comparable maturity that bears interest at a prevailing market rate. Your investment may not reflect the full opportunity cost to you when you take into account factors that affect the time value of money.
The Potential for the Value of Your Notes to Increase Will Be Limited
Your ability to participate in any change in the levels of the basket underliers and the level of the basket over the term of your notes will be limited because of the cap level. The cap level will limit the amount in cash you may receive for each of your notes at maturity, no matter how much the level of the basket may rise beyond the cap level over the term of your notes. Accordingly, the amount payable for each of your notes may be significantly less than your return had you invested directly in the underlier stocks.
The Amount Payable on Your Notes Is Not Linked to the Level of the Basket at Any Time Other than the Determination Date
The amount payable on your notes will be based on the final basket level. Therefore, for example, if the closing level of one or more basket underliers decreased precipitously on the determination date, the amount payable at maturity may be significantly less than it would otherwise have been had the amount payable been linked to the closing levels of the basket underliers prior to that decrease. Although the actual levels of the basket underliers at maturity or at other times during the term of the notes may be higher than their levels on the determination date, you will not benefit from the closing level of any basket underlier at any time other than the determination date.
Payment of the Amount Payable on Your Notes Is Subject to Our Credit Risk, and Market Perceptions About Our Creditworthiness May Adversely Affect the Market Value of Your Notes
The notes are our unsecured debt obligations. Investors are subject to our credit risk, and market perceptions about our creditworthiness may adversely affect the market value of the notes. Any decrease in the market’s view on or confidence in our creditworthiness is likely to adversely affect the market value of the notes.
The Lower Performance of One Basket Underlier May Offset an Increase in One or More Other Basket Underliers
Declines in the level of one basket underlier may offset increases in the level of one or more other basket underliers. As a result, any return on the basket — and thus on your notes — may be reduced or eliminated, which will have the effect of reducing the amount payable in respect of your notes at maturity. In addition, because the basket underliers are not equally weighted, increases in the lower weighted basket underliers may be offset by even small decreases in the more heavily weighted basket underliers.

PS-10

Risks Relating to the Initial Estimated Value of the Notes
Our Initial Estimated Value of the Notes Is Less than the Original Issue Price
Our initial estimated value of the notes that is set forth on the cover page of this pricing supplement is less than the original issue price of the notes, and does not represent a minimum price at which we, RBCCM or any of our other affiliates would be willing to purchase the notes in any secondary market (if any exists) at any time. This is due to, among other things, the fact that the original issue price of the notes reflects the borrowing rate we pay to issue securities of this kind (an internal funding rate that is lower than the rate at which we borrow funds by issuing conventional fixed rate debt), and the inclusion in the original issue price of the costs relating to our hedging of the notes.
The Price, if Any, at Which You May Be Able to Sell Your Notes Prior to Maturity May Be Less than the Original Issue Price and Our Initial Estimated Value
Assuming no change in market conditions or any other relevant factors, the price, if any, at which you may be able to sell your notes prior to maturity may be less than the original issue price and our initial estimated value. This is because any such sale price would not be expected to include our estimated profit and the costs relating to our hedging of the notes. In addition, any price at which you may sell the notes is likely to reflect customary bid-ask spreads for similar trades, and the cost of unwinding any related hedge transactions. In addition, the value of the notes determined for any secondary market price is expected to be based in part on the yield that is reflected in the interest rate on our conventional debt securities of similar maturity that are traded in the secondary market, rather than the internal funding rate that we used to price the notes and determine the initial estimated value. As a result, the secondary market price of the notes will be less than if the internal funding rate was used. These factors, together with various credit, market and economic factors over the term of the notes, and, potentially, changes in the levels of the basket underliers, are expected to reduce the price at which you may be able to sell the notes in any secondary market and will affect the value of the notes in complex and unpredictable ways.
As set forth below in the section “Supplemental Plan of Distribution (Conflicts of Interest),” for a limited period of time after the trade date, your broker may repurchase the notes at a price that is greater than the estimated value of the notes at that time. However, assuming no changes in any other relevant factors, the price you may receive if you sell your notes is expected to decline gradually during that period.
The notes are not designed to be short-term trading instruments. Accordingly, you should be able and willing to hold your notes to maturity.
The Initial Estimated Value of the Notes Is an Estimate Only, Calculated as of the Time the Terms of the Notes Were Set
Our initial estimated value of the notes is based on the value of our obligation to make the payments on the notes, together with the mid-market value of the derivative embedded in the terms of the notes. See “Structuring the Notes” below. Our estimate is based on a variety of assumptions, including our internal funding rate (which represents a discount from our credit spreads), expectations as to dividends on the underlier stocks, interest rates and volatility, and the expected term of the notes. These assumptions are based on certain forecasts about future events, which may prove to be incorrect. Other entities may value the notes or similar securities at a price that is significantly different than we do.
The value of the notes at any time after the trade date will vary based on many factors, including changes in market conditions, and cannot be predicted with accuracy. As a result, the actual value you would receive if you sold the notes in any secondary market, if any, should be expected to differ materially from our initial estimated value of your notes.
Risks Relating to the Secondary Market for the Notes
The Notes May Not Have an Active Trading Market
The notes will not be listed on any securities exchange. The dealer intends to offer to purchase the notes in the secondary market, but is not required to do so. The dealer or any of its affiliates may stop any market-making activities at any time. Even if there is a secondary market, it may not provide enough liquidity to allow you to easily trade or sell the notes. Because other dealers are not likely to make a secondary market for the notes, the price at which you may be able to trade the notes is likely to depend on the price, if any, at which the dealer is willing to buy the notes. We expect that transaction costs in any secondary market would be high. As a result, the difference between bid and asked prices for your notes in any secondary market could be substantial.
If you sell your notes before maturity, you may have to do so at a substantial discount from the price that you paid for them, and as a result, you may suffer substantial losses.
The Market Value of Your Notes May Be Influenced by Many Unpredictable Factors
The following factors, among others, many of which are beyond our control, may influence the market value of your notes:

the levels of the basket underliers;

the volatility—i.e., the frequency and magnitude of changes—of the levels of the basket underliers;

the dividend rates of the underlier stocks;

economic, financial, regulatory, political, military, public health and other events that affect stock markets generally and the underlier stocks;

interest and yield rates in the market;

the time remaining until the notes mature; and

PS-11


our creditworthiness, whether actual or perceived, and including actual or anticipated upgrades or downgrades in our credit ratings or changes in other credit measures.
These factors may influence the market value of your notes if you sell your notes before maturity, including the price you may receive for your notes in any market making transaction. If you sell your notes prior to maturity, you may receive less than the principal amount of your notes.
If the Level or Price of the Basket Underliers or the Underlier Stocks Changes, the Market Value of the Notes May Not Change in the Same Manner
The notes may trade quite differently from the performance of the basket underliers or the underlier stocks. Changes in the level or price, as applicable, of the basket underliers or the underlier stocks may not result in a comparable change in the market value of the notes. Some of the reasons for this disparity are discussed under “— The Market Value of Your Notes May Be Influenced by Many Unpredictable Factors” above.
Risks Relating to the Basket and the Basket Underliers
An Investment in the Notes Is Subject to Risks Associated with Foreign Securities Markets
The basket underliers track the value of certain foreign equity securities. The basket underliers are five separate indices, which track the equity markets in a variety of countries and regions. You should be aware that investments in securities linked to the value of foreign equity securities involve particular risks. The foreign securities markets comprising the basket underliers may have less liquidity and may be more volatile than U.S. or other securities markets and market developments may affect foreign markets differently from U.S. or other securities markets. Direct or indirect government intervention to stabilize these foreign securities markets, as well as cross-shareholdings in foreign companies, may affect trading prices and volumes in these markets. Also, there is generally less publicly available information about foreign companies than about those U.S. companies that are subject to the reporting requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and foreign companies are subject to accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and requirements that differ from those applicable to U.S. reporting companies.
Prices of securities in foreign countries are subject to political, economic, financial and social factors that apply in those geographical regions. These factors, which could negatively affect those securities markets, include the possibility of recent or future changes in a foreign government’s economic and fiscal policies, the possible imposition of, or changes in, currency exchange laws or other laws or restrictions applicable to foreign companies or investments in foreign equity securities and the possibility of fluctuations in the rate of exchange between currencies, the possibility of outbreaks of hostility and political instability and the possibility of natural disaster or adverse public health development in the region. Moreover, foreign economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in important respects such as growth of gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resources and self-sufficiency.
The Notes Are Linked to the Underlier Stocks, and Are Therefore Subject to Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk
Although the underlier stocks are traded principally in non-U.S. dollars, the payments on the notes will not be adjusted due to any changes in currency exchange rates. Changes in the value of one or more of the currencies in which the underlier stocks are traded could have an adverse impact on the value of the notes and the payment at maturity.
Foreign currency exchange rates vary over time, and may vary considerably during the life of the notes. Changes in a particular exchange rate result from the interaction of many factors directly or indirectly affecting economic and political conditions.
Of particular importance are:

existing and expected rates of inflation;

existing and expected interest rate levels;

the balance of payments;

the extent of governmental surpluses or deficits in the relevant countries; and

other financial, economic, military and political factors.
All of these factors are, in turn, sensitive to the monetary, fiscal and trade policies pursued by the governments of the various component countries and the United States and other countries important to international trade and finance.
It has been reported that the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority and regulators from other countries are in the process of investigating the potential manipulation of published currency exchange rates. If such manipulation has occurred or is continuing, certain published exchange rates may have been, or may be in the future, artificially lower (or higher) than they would otherwise have been. Any such manipulation could have an adverse impact on any payments on, and the value of, your notes and the trading market for your notes. In addition, we cannot predict whether any changes or reforms affecting the determination or publication of exchange rates or the supervision of currency trading will be implemented in connection with these investigations. Any such changes or reforms could also adversely impact your notes.
You Have No Shareholder Rights or Rights to Receive Any Underlier Stock
Investing in your notes will not make you a holder of any of the underlier stocks. Neither you nor any other holder or owner of your notes will have any voting rights, any right to receive dividends or other distributions, any rights to make a claim against the underlier stock issuers or any other rights with respect to the underlier stocks. Your notes will be paid in cash to the extent any amount is payable at maturity, and you will have no right to receive delivery of any of the underlier stocks.

PS-12

The Return on the Notes Will Not Reflect Any Dividends Paid on the Underlier Stocks
The basket underlier sponsors calculate the levels of the basket underliers by reference to the prices of the applicable underlier stocks without taking account of the value of dividends paid on those underlier stocks. Therefore, the return on the notes will not reflect the return you would realize if you actually owned the underlier stocks and received the dividends paid on those underlier stocks.
We Will Not Hold Any of the Underlier Stocks for Your Benefit, if We Hold Them at All
The indenture and the terms governing your notes do not contain any restriction on our ability or the ability of any of our affiliates to sell, pledge or otherwise convey all or any portion of the underlier stocks that we or they may acquire. Neither we nor our affiliates will pledge or otherwise hold any assets for your benefit, including any of these securities. Consequently, in the event of our bankruptcy, insolvency or liquidation, any of those securities that we own will be subject to the claims of our creditors generally and will not be available for your benefit specifically.
Past Basket Underlier Performance Is No Guide to Future Performance
The actual performance of the basket underliers over the term of the notes may bear little relation to their historical levels. Likewise, the amount payable at maturity may bear little relationship to the hypothetical return table or charts set forth elsewhere in this pricing supplement. We cannot predict the future performance of the basket underliers or the basket. Trading activities undertaken by market participants, including certain investors in the notes or their affiliates, including in short positions and derivative positions, may adversely affect the levels of the basket underliers.
The Policies of the Applicable Basket Underlier Sponsors and Changes that Affect the Basket Underliers or the Underlier Stocks Could Affect the Amount Payable on the Notes, if Any, and Their Market Value
The policies of the basket underlier sponsors concerning the calculation of their levels, additions, deletions or substitutions of the underlier stocks and the manner in which changes affecting such underlier stocks or their issuers, such as stock dividends, reorganizations or mergers, are reflected in the levels of the basket underliers, could affect the levels of the basket underliers and, therefore, the amount payable on the notes, if any, at maturity and the market value of the notes prior to maturity. The amount payable on the notes, if any, and their market value could also be affected if a basket underlier sponsor changes these policies, for example, by changing the manner in which it calculates the level of the applicable basket underlier, or if a basket underlier sponsor discontinues or suspends calculation or publication of the level of a basket underlier, in which case it may become difficult to determine the market value of the notes. If events such as these occur, the calculation agent will determine the amount payable, if any, at maturity as described herein and in the product prospectus supplement.
The Calculation Agent Can Postpone the Determination of the Final Basket Level if a Market Disruption Event Occurs or Is Continuing
The determination of the final basket level may be postponed if the calculation agent determines that a market disruption event has occurred or is continuing on the determination date with respect to one or more of the basket underliers. If such a postponement occurs, the determination date will be postponed until the first following trading day on which the calculation agent determines that, on or subsequent to the originally scheduled determination date, each basket underlier has had at least one trading day on which no market disruption event has occurred or is continuing. In no case, however, will the determination date be postponed to a date later than the originally scheduled stated maturity date. If a market disruption event occurs or is continuing on the determination date, the stated maturity date for the notes will also be postponed.
If the determination of the level of a basket underlier for the determination date is postponed to the last possible day, but a market disruption event occurs or is continuing on that day, that day will nevertheless be the date on which the level of that basket underlier will be determined by the calculation agent. In such an event, the calculation agent will make a good faith estimate in its sole discretion of the level that would have prevailed in the absence of the market disruption event.  See “Summary Information—Key Terms—Determination date,” “—Stated maturity date” and “—Consequences of a market disruption event or a non-trading day” above.
There Is No Affiliation Between Any Underlier Stock Issuers or Basket Underlier Sponsors and Us or the Dealer, and Neither We Nor the Dealer Is Responsible for Any Disclosure by Any of the Underlier Stock Issuers or Basket Underlier Sponsors
We are not affiliated with the issuers of the underlier stocks or with any sponsor of the basket underliers. As discussed herein, however, we, the dealer, and our other affiliates may currently, or from time to time in the future, engage in business with the issuers of the underlier stocks. Nevertheless, none of us, the dealer, or our respective affiliates assumes any responsibility for the accuracy or the completeness of any information about any basket underlier or any of the underlier stocks. You, as an investor in the notes, should make your own investigation into the basket underliers and the underlier stocks. See the section below entitled “The Basket and the Basket Underliers” for additional information about the basket underliers.
Neither the basket underlier sponsors nor any issuers of the underlier stocks are involved in this offering of the notes in any way, and none of them have any obligation of any sort with respect to the notes. Thus, none of these sponsors or any of the issuers of the underlier stocks have any obligation to take your interests into consideration for any reason, including in taking any corporate actions that might affect the value of the notes.

PS-13

Risks Relating to Our Business and Hedging Activities, and Conflicts of Interest
Our Hedging Activities and/or Those of Our Distributors May Negatively Impact Investors in the Notes and Cause Our Interests and Those of Our Clients and Counterparties to Be Contrary to Those of Investors in the Notes
The dealer or one or more of our other affiliates and/or distributors has hedged or expects to hedge its obligations under the hedging transaction that it may enter into with us by purchasing futures and/or other instruments linked to the basket or to one or more basket underliers or the underlier stocks. The dealer or one or more of our other affiliates and/or distributors also expects to adjust the hedge by, among other things, purchasing or selling any of the foregoing, and perhaps other instruments linked to the basket, or one or more of the basket underliers or underlier stocks, at any time and from time to time, and to unwind the hedge by selling any of the foregoing on or before the determination date.
We, the dealer, or one or more of our other affiliates and/or distributors may also enter into, adjust and unwind hedging transactions relating to other basket- or index-linked notes whose returns are linked to changes in the level or price of the basket, the basket underliers or the underlier stocks. Any of these hedging activities may adversely affect the levels of the basket underliers —directly or indirectly by affecting the price of the underlier stocks—and therefore the market value of the notes and the amount you will receive, if any, on the notes. In addition, you should expect that these transactions will cause us, the dealer or our other affiliates and/or distributors, or our clients or counterparties, to have economic interests and incentives that do not align with, and that may be directly contrary to, those of an investor in the notes. We, the dealer and our other affiliates and/or distributors will have no obligation to take, refrain from taking or cease taking any action with respect to these transactions based on the potential effect on an investor in the notes, and may receive substantial returns with respect to these hedging activities while the value of the notes may decline. Additionally, if the distributor from which you purchase notes is to conduct hedging activities for us in connection with the notes, that distributor may profit in connection with such hedging activities and such profit, if any, will be in addition to the compensation that the distributor receives for the sale of the notes to you. You should be aware that the potential to earn fees in connection with hedging activities may create a further incentive for the distributor to sell the notes to you in addition to the compensation they would receive for the sale of the notes.
Market Activities by Us and by the Dealer for Our Own Account or for Our Clients Could Negatively Impact Investors in the Notes
We, the dealer and our other affiliates provide a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base. As such, we each may act as an investor, investment banker, research provider, investment manager, investment advisor, market maker, trader, prime broker or lender. In those and other capacities, we, the dealer and/or our other affiliates purchase, sell or hold a broad array of investments, actively trade securities (including the notes or other securities that we have issued), the underlier stocks, derivatives, loans, credit default swaps, indices, baskets and other financial instruments and products for our own accounts or for the accounts of our customers, and we will have other direct or indirect interests, in those securities and in other markets that may be not be consistent with your interests and may adversely affect the levels of the basket underliers and/or the value of the notes. Any of these financial market activities may, individually or in the aggregate, have an adverse effect on the levels of the basket underliers and the market value of your notes, and you should expect that our interests and those of the dealer and/or our other affiliates, or our clients or counterparties, will at times be adverse to those of investors in the notes.
In addition to entering into these transactions itself, we, the dealer and our other affiliates may structure these transactions for our clients or counterparties, or otherwise advise or assist clients or counterparties in entering into these transactions. These activities may be undertaken to achieve a variety of objectives, including: permitting other purchasers of the notes or other securities to hedge their investment in whole or in part; facilitating transactions for other clients or counterparties that may have business objectives or investment strategies that are inconsistent with or contrary to those of investors in the notes; hedging the exposure of us, the dealer or our other affiliates in connection with the notes, through their market-making activities, as a swap counterparty or otherwise; enabling us, the dealer or our other affiliates to comply with internal risk limits or otherwise manage firmwide, business unit or product risk; and/or enabling us, the dealer or our other affiliates to take directional views as to relevant markets on behalf of itself or our clients or counterparties that are inconsistent with or contrary to the views and objectives of investors in the notes.
We, the dealer and our other affiliates regularly offer a wide array of securities, financial instruments and other products into the marketplace, including existing or new products that are similar to the notes or other securities that we may issue, the underlier stocks or other securities or instruments similar to or linked to the foregoing. Investors in the notes should expect that we, the dealer and our other affiliates will offer securities, financial instruments, and other products that may compete with the notes for liquidity or otherwise.
We, the Dealer and Our Other Affiliates Regularly Provide Services to, or Otherwise Have Business Relationships with, a Broad Client Base, Which Has Included and May Include Us and the Issuers of the Underlier Stocks
We, the dealer and our other affiliates regularly provide financial advisory, investment advisory and transactional services to a substantial and diversified client base. You should assume that we or they will, at present or in the future, provide such services or otherwise engage in transactions with, among others, us and the issuers of the underlier stocks, or transact in securities or instruments or with parties that are directly or indirectly related to these entities. These services could include making loans to or equity investments in those companies, providing financial advisory or other investment banking services, or issuing research reports. You should expect that we, the dealer and our other affiliates, in providing these services, engaging in such transactions, or acting for our own accounts, may take actions that have direct or indirect effects on the notes or other securities that we may issue, the underlier stocks or other securities or instruments similar to or linked to the foregoing, and that such actions could be adverse to the interests of investors in the notes. In addition, in connection with these activities, certain personnel within us, the dealer or our other affiliates may have access to confidential material non-public information about these parties that would not be disclosed to investors of the notes.

PS-14

As the Calculation Agent, RBCCM Will Have the Authority to Make Determinations that Could Affect the Amount You Receive, if Any, at Maturity
As the calculation agent for the notes, RBCCM will have discretion in making various determinations that affect the notes, including determining the final basket level, which will be used to determine the cash settlement amount at maturity, and determining whether to postpone the determination date because of a market disruption event or because that day is not a trading day. The calculation agent also has discretion in making certain adjustments relating to a discontinuation or modification of a basket underlier, as described under “General Terms of the Notes—Unavailability of the Level of the Underlier” on page PS-6 of the accompanying product prospectus supplement PB-1. The exercise of this discretion by RBCCM, which is our wholly owned subsidiary, could adversely affect the value of the notes and may create a conflict of interest between you and RBCCM. For a description of market disruption events as well as the consequences of the market disruption events, see the section entitled “General Terms of the Notes—Market Disruption Events” beginning on page PS-7 of the accompanying product prospectus supplement PB-1. We may change the calculation agent at any time without notice, and RBCCM may resign as calculation agent at any time.
You Must Rely on Your Own Evaluation of the Merits of an Investment Linked to the Basket
In the ordinary course of business, we, the dealer, our other affiliates and any additional dealers, including in acting as a research provider, investment advisor, market maker, principal investor or distributor, may express research or investment views on expected movements in the basket underliers or the underlier stocks, and may do so in the future. These views or reports may be communicated to our clients, clients of our affiliates and clients of any additional dealers, and may be inconsistent with, or adverse to, the objectives of investors in the notes. However, these views are subject to change from time to time. Moreover, other professionals who transact business in markets relating to the basket underliers or the underlier stocks may at any time have significantly different views from those of these entities. For these reasons, you are encouraged to derive information concerning the basket underliers or the underlier stocks from multiple sources, and you should not rely solely on views expressed by us, the dealer, our other affiliates, or any additional dealers.
Risks Relating to Taxation and Investors that Are Insurance Companies or Employee Benefit Plans
Significant Aspects of the Income Tax Treatment of an Investment in the Notes Are Uncertain
The tax treatment of an investment in the notes is uncertain. We do not plan to request a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service or the Canada Revenue Agency regarding the tax treatment of an investment in the notes, and the Internal Revenue Service, the Canada Revenue Agency or a court may not agree with the tax treatment described in this pricing supplement.
The Internal Revenue Service has issued a notice indicating that it and the U.S. Treasury Department are actively considering whether, among other issues, a holder should be required to accrue interest over the term of an instrument such as the notes even though that holder will not receive any payments with respect to the notes until maturity or earlier sale or exchange and whether all or part of the gain a holder may recognize upon sale, exchange or maturity of an instrument such as the notes could be treated as ordinary income. The outcome of this process is uncertain and could apply on a retroactive basis.
Please read carefully the section entitled “Supplemental Discussion of U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences” in the accompanying product prospectus supplement PB-1, the section entitled “Certain Income Tax Consequences” in the accompanying prospectus supplement and the section entitled “Tax Consequences” in the accompanying prospectus. You should consult your tax advisor about your own tax situation.
Certain Considerations for Insurance Companies and Employee Benefit Plans
Any insurance company or fiduciary of a pension plan or other employee benefit plan that is subject to the prohibited transaction rules of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Internal Revenue Code”), including an IRA or a Keogh plan (or a governmental plan to which similar prohibitions apply), and that is considering purchasing the notes with the assets of the insurance company or the assets of such a plan, should consult with its counsel regarding whether the purchase or holding of the notes could become a “prohibited transaction” under ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code or any substantially similar prohibition in light of the representations a purchaser or holder in any of the above categories is deemed to make by purchasing and holding the notes. This is discussed in more detail under “Benefit Plan Investor Considerations” on page 61 in the accompanying prospectus.
Additional Risks Relating to the Notes
We May Sell an Additional Aggregate Amount of the Notes at a Different Original Issue Price
At our sole option, we may decide to sell an additional aggregate amount of the notes subsequent to the trade date. The price of the notes in the subsequent sale may differ substantially (higher or lower) from the principal amount.
If the Original Issue Price for Your Notes Represents a Premium to the Principal Amount, the Return on Your Notes Will Be Lower Than the Return on Notes for Which the Original Issue Price Is Equal to the Principal Amount or Represents a Discount to the Principal Amount
The cash settlement amount will not be adjusted based on the original issue price. If the original issue price for your notes differs from the principal amount, the return on your notes held to maturity will differ from, and may be substantially less than, the return on notes for which the original issue price is equal to the principal amount. If the original issue price for your notes represents a premium to the principal amount and you hold them to maturity, the return on your notes will be lower than the return on notes for which the original issue price is equal to the principal amount or represents a discount to the principal amount.

PS-15

In addition, the impact of the buffer level and the cap level on the return on your investment will depend upon the price you pay for your notes relative to the principal amount. For example, if you purchase your notes at a premium to the principal amount, the cap level will only permit a lower percentage increase in your investment in the notes than would have been the case for notes purchased at the principal amount or a discount to the principal amount. Similarly, the buffer level, while still providing some protection for the return on the notes, will allow a greater percentage decrease in your investment in the notes than would have been the case for notes purchased at the principal amount or a discount to the principal amount.
Non-U.S. Investors May Be Subject to Certain Additional Risks
The notes will be denominated in U.S. dollars. If you are a non-U.S. investor who purchases the notes with a currency other than U.S. dollars, changes in rates of exchange may have an adverse effect on the value, price or returns of your investment.
This pricing supplement contains a general description of certain U.S. tax considerations relating to the notes. If you are a non-U.S. investor, you should consult your tax advisors as to the consequences, under the tax laws of the country where you are resident for tax purposes, of acquiring, holding and disposing of the notes and receiving the payments that might be due under the notes.
For a discussion of certain Canadian federal income tax consequences of investing in the notes, please see the section entitled “Tax Consequences — Canadian Taxation” in the accompanying prospectus. If you are not a Non-resident Holder (as that term is defined in “Tax Consequences — Canadian Taxation” in the accompanying prospectus) or if you acquire the notes in the secondary market, you should consult your tax advisor as to the consequences of acquiring, holding and disposing of the notes and receiving the payments that might be due under the notes.
TOPIX Recently Implemented Methodology Changes That Are Being Carried Out In Stages Through January 2025; Limited Historical Underlier Performance Information Is Available Incorporating the Changes That Have Been Carried Out To Date
Prior to April 4, 2022, TOPIX was comprised of all domestic common stocks listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (the “TSE”). On April 4, 2022, the TSE was restructured into three new market segments: the Prime Market, the Standard Market and the Growth Market. On that date, in conjunction with the restructuring, TOPIX changed its methodology and, among other things, began revisions to its constituents that will be carried out in stages from October 2022 to January 2025. As a result, limited historical performance information incorporating the methodology changes that have been carried out to date is available for you to consider in making an independent investigation of the performance of this index, which may make it difficult for you to make an informed decision with respect to an investment in the notes. In addition, as the recent methodology changes are being carried out in stages, no historical underlier performance information will be available with all currently contemplated changes until after implementation of the final stage in January 2025.

PS-16

THE BASKET AND THE BASKET UNDERLIERS
The Basket
The basket is comprised of five basket underliers with the following initial weights within the basket: the EURO STOXX 50® Index (38.00% weighting), the TOPIX® (26.00% weighting), the FTSE® 100 Index (17.00% weighting), the Swiss Market Index (11.00% weighting) and the S&P®/ASX 200 Index (8.00% weighting).
All information contained in this pricing supplement regarding the basket underliers including, without limitation, their make-up, method of calculation and changes in their components and their historical closing values, is derived from publicly available information prepared by the basket underlier sponsors. Such information reflects the policies of, and is subject to change by, the basket underlier sponsors. The basket underlier sponsors own the copyrights and all rights to the basket underliers. The basket underlier sponsors are under no obligation to continue to publish, and may discontinue publication of, the basket underliers. The consequences of the basket underlier sponsors discontinuing or modifying the basket underliers are described in the section entitled “Description of the Notes—Unavailability of the Level of the Underlier” on page PS-6 of the accompanying product prospectus supplement PB-1.
The basket underliers are calculated and maintained by the basket underlier sponsors. Neither we nor RBCCM has participated in the preparation of such documents or made any due diligence inquiry with respect to the basket underliers or basket underlier sponsors in connection with the offering of the notes. In connection with the offering of the notes, neither we nor RBCCM makes any representation that such publicly available information regarding the basket underliers or the basket underlier sponsors is accurate or complete. Furthermore, we cannot give any assurance that all events occurring prior to the offering of the notes (including events that would affect the accuracy or completeness of the publicly available information described in this pricing supplement) that would affect the level of the basket or have been publicly disclosed. Subsequent disclosure of any such events could affect the value received at maturity and therefore the market value of the notes.
We, the dealer or our respective affiliates may presently or from time to time engage in business with one or more of the issuers of the underlier stocks without regard to your interests, including extending loans to or entering into loans with, or making equity investments in, one or more of such issuers or providing advisory services to one or more of such issuers, such as merger and acquisition advisory services. In the course of business, we, the dealer or our respective affiliates may acquire non-public information about one or more of such issuers and none of us, the dealer or our respective affiliates undertake to disclose any such information to you. In addition, we, the dealer or our respective affiliates from time to time have published and in the future may publish research reports with respect to such issuers. These research reports may or may not recommend that investors buy or hold the securities of such issuers. As a prospective purchaser of the notes, you should undertake an independent investigation of the basket underliers or of the issuers of the underlier stocks to the extent required, in your judgment, to allow you to make an informed decision with respect to an investment in the notes.
Additional information about each basket underlier and its method of calculation may be obtained from the websites maintained by the applicable basket underlier sponsors. However, we are not incorporating by reference the websites of the basket underlier sponsors or any material that they include into this pricing supplement. In this pricing supplement, unless the context requires otherwise, references to the basket underliers will include any successor underliers to the basket underliers and references to the basket underlier sponsors will include any successors thereto.

PS-17

EURO STOXX 50® Index
The SX5E is a free-float market capitalization-weighted index of 50 European blue-chip stocks that is calculated in euros. The 50 stocks included in the SX5E trade in euros and are allocated, generally based on their country of incorporation and primary listing of the security, to one of the following Eurozone countries: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. Companies allocated to a Eurozone country but not traded in euros are not eligible for inclusion in the SX5E. The SX5E was created by STOXX Limited, a part of Deutsche Börse Group. The SX5E was first published on February 26, 1998, with a base value of 1,000 as of December 31, 1991. Additional information regarding the SX5E may be obtained from the STOXX Limited website: stoxx.com. We are not incorporating by reference the website or any material it includes in this document.
Composition and Maintenance
The SX5E is composed of 50 component stocks of market sector leaders from within the 20 EURO STOXX® Supersector indices, which represent the Eurozone portion of the STOXX Europe 600® Supersector indices. The 20 supersectors from which stocks are selected for the SX5E are: Automobiles & Parts; Banks; Basic Resources; Chemicals; Construction & Materials; Consumer Products & Services; Energy; Financial Services; Food, Beverage & Tobacco; Health Care; Industrial Goods & Services; Insurance; Media; Personal Care, Drug & Grocery Stores; Real Estate; Retailers; Technology; Telecommunications; Travel & Leisure; and Utilities; although stocks from each of these supersectors are not necessarily included at a given time.
The composition of the SX5E is reviewed annually in September, based on the closing stock data on the last trading day in August. For each of the 20 EURO STOXX Supersector indices, eligible stocks are ranked in terms of free-float market capitalization. The largest stocks are added to the selection list until the coverage is close to, but still less than, 60% of the free-float market capitalization of the corresponding EURO STOXX Total Market Supersector Index. If the next highest-ranked stock brings the coverage closer to 60% in absolute terms, then it is also added to the selection list. All stocks currently included in the SX5E are added to the selection list. All the stocks on the selection list are then ranked in terms of free-float market capitalization to produce the final index selection list. The largest 40 stocks on the selection list are selected; the remaining 10 stocks are selected from the largest remaining current stocks ranked between 41 and 60; if the number of stocks selected is still below 50, then the largest remaining stocks are selected until there are 50 stocks.
Component changes are announced on the first trading day in September. Changes to the component stocks are implemented on the third Friday in September and are effective the following trading day. Changes in the composition of the SX5E are made to ensure that the SX5E includes the 50 market sector leaders from within the Eurozone.
The free float factors for each component stock used to calculate the SX5E., as described below, are reviewed, calculated, and implemented on a quarterly basis and are fixed until the next quarterly review. The free-float factor reduces the number of shares to the actual amount available on the market. All fractions of the total number of shares that are larger than or equal to 5% and whose holding is of a long-term nature are excluded from the index calculation.
Components are capped at a maximum weight of 10% quarterly.
Ongoing Maintenance
The selection list for the SX5E is updated on a monthly basis and is used to determine replacements for any stock deleted from the SX5E due to corporate actions. The selection list is determined based on data as of the last trading day of the previous month. Updates to free-float data applicable to selection lists are published on a quarterly basis in March, June, September and December.
Corporate actions (including mergers and takeovers, spin-offs, delistings, and bankruptcy) that affect the SX5E composition are announced immediately, implemented two trading days later and become effective on the next trading day after implementation.
A deleted stock is replaced immediately to maintain the fixed number of 50 stocks. The replacement is based on the latest selection list that is updated monthly.
In case of merger and acquisition where an component stock is involved, the original stock is replaced by the new stock. If a stock is deleted from the SX5E in between the regular review dates but is still a component of the STOXX Regional TMI Index, then this stock will remain in the SX5E until the next regular review.
The component stocks of the SX5E are subject to a “fast exit” rule. A component stock is deleted if it ranks 75 or below on the monthly selection list and it ranked 75 or below on the selection list of the previous month.
The component stocks of the SX5E are also subject to a “fast entry” rule. All stocks on the latest selection list and initial public offering (IPO) stocks are reviewed for a fast-track addition on a quarterly basis. A stock is added if it qualifies for the latest selection list generated at the end of February, May, August or November and if it ranks within the lower buffer (between 1 and 25) on the selection list. If added, the stock replaces the smallest component stock.
In the case of a spin-off, if the original stock was a component stock, then each spin-off stock qualifies for addition if it lies within the upper buffer (between 1 and 40) on the latest selection list. The spin-off replaces the lowest ranked stock as determined by the selection list. Qualifying spin-off stocks are added in sequence: The largest qualifying spin-off stock replaces the original stock in the index, and so on.
Calculation of the SX5E
The SX5E is calculated with the “Laspeyres formula,” which measures the price changes in the component stocks against a fixed base quantity weight. The formula for calculating the SX5E value can be expressed as follows:

PS-18

SX5E =
Free float market capitalization of the SX5E
 
Divisor
The “free float market capitalization of the SX5E” is equal to the sum of the products of the price, the number of shares, the free float factor and the weighting cap factor for each component stock as of the time the SX5E is being calculated.
The SX5E is also subject to a divisor, which is adjusted to maintain the continuity of the SX5E values across changes due to corporate actions, such as the deletion and addition of stocks, the substitution of stocks, stock dividends, and stock splits.

License Agreement
We have entered into a non-exclusive license agreement with STOXX providing for the license to us and certain of our affiliated or subsidiary companies, in exchange for a fee, of the right to use indices owned and published by STOXX (including the SX5E) in connection with certain securities, including the notes offered hereby.
The license agreement between us and STOXX requires that the following language be stated in this document:
STOXX has no relationship to us, other than the licensing of the SX5E and the related trademarks for use in connection with the notes. STOXX does not:

sponsor, endorse, sell, or promote the notes;

recommend that any person invest in the notes offered hereby or any other securities;

have any responsibility or liability for or make any decisions about the timing, amount, or pricing of the notes;

have any responsibility or liability for the administration, management, or marketing of the notes; or

consider the needs of the notes or the holders of the notes in determining, composing, or calculating the SX5E, or have any obligation to do so.
STOXX will not have any liability in connection with the notes. Specifically:

STOXX does not make any warranty, express or implied, and disclaims any and all warranty concerning:

the results to be obtained by the notes, the holders of the notes or any other person in connection with the use of the SX5E and the data included in the SX5E;

the accuracy or completeness of the SX5E and its data;

the merchantability and the fitness for a particular purpose or use of the SX5E and its data;

STOXX will have no liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions in the SX5E or its data; and

Under no circumstances will STOXX be liable for any lost profits or indirect, punitive, special, or consequential damages or losses, even if STOXX knows that they might occur.
The licensing agreement between us and STOXX is solely for their benefit and our benefit, and not for the benefit of the holders of the notes or any other third parties.

The TOPIX®
TOPIX (also referred to herein as the “index”), also known as the Tokyo Stock Price Index:

is an equity index, and therefore cannot be invested in directly;

does not file reports with the SEC because it is not an issuer;

was first launched on July 1, 1969 with a base level of 100 as of January 4, 1968; and

is sponsored, calculated published and disseminated by JPX Market Innovation & Research, Inc., which we refer to as JPXI.
TOPIX is a free-float adjusted market capitalization weighted index comprised of domestic common stocks listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) covering an extensive portion of the Japanese stock market. On April 4, 2022, JPXI began revisions to TOPIX in conjunction with the restructuring of the TSE into three new market segments: Prime Market (companies which center their business on constructive dialogue with global investors), Standard Market (companies with sufficient liquidity and governance levels to be investment instruments) and Growth Market (companies with high growth potential). Revisions to TOPIX are being carried out in stages from October 2022 to January 2025. Prior to April 4, 2022, TOPIX was comprised of all domestic common stocks listed on the First Section of the TSE. At that time, domestic stocks admitted to the TSE were assigned either to the TSE First Section, TSE Second Section, TSE Mothers, or JASDAQ (Standard and Growth). Additional information about TOPIX (including the top ten constituent stocks and weights and sector weights) is available on the following website: jpx.co.jp/english/markets/indices/topix/. We are not incorporating by reference the website or any material it includes in this document.

PS-19

TOPIX Composition and Maintenance
As of April 4, 2022, TOPIX was comprised of all domestic common stocks listed on the TSE First Section as of April 1, 2022 (the business day before the TSE market restructuring), excluding certain types of securities such as subscription warrant securities, preferred stock, and equity contribution securities. During the period from April 4, 2022 to January 31, 2025, constituent revisions will be carried out in stages as described further below.
TOPIX Calculation
TOPIX is a free-float adjusted market capitalization weighted index, which reflects movements in the market capitalization as measured from a base index value of 100 set on the base date of January 4, 1968. The discussion below describes the “price return” calculation of TOPIX.
JPXI calculates TOPIX by multiplying the base index value of 100 by the quotient of the current free-float-adjusted market value in Japanese yen divided by the base market value. The resulting value is rounded to the nearest one hundredth. The formula for calculating TOPIX value can be expressed as follows:


Current free float adjusted market value
Index value = Base Index Value of 100 ×

Base market value


The current free-float-adjusted market value is the sum of the products of the price times the number of free-float shares for each constituent stock.
The number of free-float shares for this calculation is the total number of listed shares multiplied by free-float weight ratio multiplied by the cap-adjustment ratio. The total number of listed shares used for this purpose is usually the same as the number of actual listed shares. However, in some cases these numbers will differ due to corporate actions. For example, in the case of a stock split, the number of listed shares will increase on the additional listing date after the stock split becomes effective. On the other hand, the number of listed shares for index calculation purposes will increase on the ex-rights date, leading these two numbers to be different for a brief period.
Free-float weight is the percentage of listed shares deemed to be available for trading in the market, and is calculated by JPXI for each constituent stock. Free-float weight is calculated by subtracting the quotient of non-free-float shares divided by listed shares from one. Free-float weight is reviewed in order to reflect the latest share ownership distribution. The timing of the free-float weight review varies depending on when earnings are announced. In addition to the periodic review, extraordinary reviews are conducted at JPXI’s discretion if free-float weight changes significantly due to events such as third-party allotment. JPXI estimates non-free-float shares using published materials such as securities reports. JPXI generally considers the following to be non-free float shares: shares held by the top ten major shareholders (with certain exceptions), treasury stocks, shares with limited voting rights as specified in Article 308(1) of the Companies Act, shares held by board members and other representatives, shares held by other listed companies for investment purposes other than pure investment, and other shares deemed by JPXI to be unavailable for trading in the market. Securities deemed to be held by individuals indicated in the section of the state of corporate governance, etc. in the securities report will not be included in the estimation of non-free-float shares.
The upper weighting limit for any one constituent of TOPIX is 10%. If an issue’s weight calculated by free-float adjusted market capitalization as of the last business day of every August is over the upper limit, a cap-adjustment ratio for adjustment of weight will be applied to said issue on the last business day of October. Even if the weight again exceeds the upper limit due to stock price movements or other reasons, the cap-adjustment ratio will not be changed until the last business day of the next October.
In the event of any increase or decrease in the current free-float-adjusted market value due to causes other than fluctuations in the stock market, such as public offerings, adjustments are made by JPXI to the base market value in order to maintain the continuity of TOPIX.
The adjusted base market value will equal the old base market value multiplied by the free-float-adjusted market value on the business day before the adjustment date plus or minus, as applicable, the adjustment amount divided by the free-float-adjusted market value on the business day before the adjustment date.
The adjustment amount for the foregoing calculation is the product of the change (the increase or decrease) in the number of shares used for index calculation times the price of the shares used for the adjustment.
Inclusion or Removal of Constituents
Weighting Adjustments by Tradable Share Market Capitalization Criteria (only applicable from April 4, 2022 through January 31, 2025)

1.
Designation of “phased weighting reduction constituents”

I.
Of the constituents as of April 1, 2022, those that fall under both the following (a) and (b) will be designated as “phased weighting reduction constituents”:

a)
First decision: The constituent’s tradable share market capitalization is less then JPY 10 billion as of the “Notice on Whether the Listed Company is Meeting the Continued Listing Criteria for New Market Segments”, which has a base date of June 30, 2021, and

b)
Second decision: The constituent’s tradeable share market capitalization is less than JPY 10 billion at the end of the reporting period following the reporting period used in decision (a).

PS-20


II.
Any constituent applying for listing on the First Section through an initial listing (excluding technical listings) or section transfer after the “first set of revisions pertaining to cash equity market restructuring” were implemented on November 1, 2020 will not be subject to designation as a phased weighting reduction constituent based on tradable share market capitalization.

2.
Adjustment to the weighting of phased weighting reduction constituents

I.
The weighting of phased weighting reduction constituents will be reduced in 10 stages on the last business day of every quarter starting on the last business day of October 2022 (October 31, 2022), and these constituents will be removed from the index on the last business day of January 2025.

II.
Said adjustments to the weighting of phased weighting reduction constituents will be calculated by multiplying the free-float weight by the transition factor (which will decrease from 1.0 to 0 in increments of 0.1).

III.
In order to check whether there have been changes to the tradeable share market capitalization of each phased weighting reduction constituent, a re-evaluation will be conducted, using tradable share market capitalization as of the end of the reporting period following the reporting period used for the second decision in (i)(b). If the tradable share market capitalization of a constituent has reached JPY 10 billion or more but the annual traded value ratio of said constituent has not reached 0.2 at this point, the transition factor will no longer decrease as of the fifth stage (it will stay at 0.6, the same as the fourth stage). If the tradable share market capitalization and the annual traded value ratio of a constituent have reached JPY 10 billion or more and 0.2 or more respectively at this point, the transition factor shall be increased to 1 in increments of 0.1 from the fifth stage and said constituent will be removed from the list of phased weighting reduction constituents. The traded value ratio used for the re-evaluation in (ii) is calculated using the sum of monthly traded value ratios from September 2022 to August 2023. The monthly traded value ratio shall be calculated as follows: (Median of daily traded value in trading sessions at TSE multiplied by the number of business days in the month) divided by the free-float adjusted market capitalization as of the last business day of the month before the transition factor was applied.
Transition Schedule
Transition Stage
Index Revision Date
Transition Factor
1st
Last business day of October 2022
x0.9
2nd
Last business day of January 2023
x0.8
3rd
Last business day of April 2023
x0.7
4th
Last business day of July 2023
x0.6
Re-evaluation
5th
Last business day of October 2023
x0.5
6th
Last business day of January 2024
x0.4
7th
Last business day of April 2024
x0.3
8th
Last business day of July 2024
x0.2
9th
Last business day of October 2024
x0.1
10th (removed from TOPIX)
Last business day of January 2025
x0

Non-Periodic Removal
Constituents which are delisted (excluding cases where the stock lists on another TSE market immediately), designated as securities to be delisted, or designated as securities on alert shall be removed.
If a constituent was designated as a security on alert as of the day of transition to the new market structure (April 4, 2022), said constituent was removed from TOPIX on the last business day of April 2022.
Non-Periodic Inclusion
Stocks which carry out initial listings (excluding technical listings) on or transfer to the Prime Market will be included in TOPIX on the last business day of the month following the month containing the listing date or transfer date.

PS-21

In the event a constituent of TOPIX is delisted due to a stock transfer, stock swap, merger for creating a new company or demerger, and the newly created, surviving or succeeding company is listed without delay, JPXI will add the new company to the index.
In the event a constituent of TOPIX is delisted due to a stock swap or absorption-type merger, in which the surviving company or the parent company holding all shares of the constituent company is not a constituent of TOPIX, then JPXI will add the surviving company or the parent company to the index.
For issues that are removed from the index due to designation as securities on alert, but have had said designation cancelled as of the last business day of August 2023, if the company meets the same criteria as for the re-evaluation in “Adjustment to the weighting of phased weighting reduction constituents” above (i.e., tradeable share market capitalization of JPY 10 billion or more and annual traded value ratio of 0.2 or more), said company shall be added to TOPIX on the last business day of October 2023.
Dates of Constituent Inclusion and Removal


Event Requiring Adjustment

Adjustment Date

Stock Price Used for
Adjustment
Inclusion

New listing on the Prime Market.

Last business day of the month after such listing.

Stock price at the end of trading on the business day before adjustment date
Inclusion

New listing of a newly formed company resulting from a corporate consolidation, etc., that results in a TOPIX constituent being delisted and the new company being included in TOPIX.

New listing date. If the initial listing date falls on a holiday, it will be the following business day.

Base price
Inclusion

Delisting of a TOPIX constituent due to a stock swap or an absorption-type merger with a surviving stock that is not a TOPIX constituent, and the surviving stock is included in TOPIX.

Delisting date

Stock price at the end of trading on the business day before adjustment date
Inclusion

A company is transferred to the Prime Market.

Last business day of the month following such change.

Stock price at the end of trading on the business day before adjustment date
Removal

New listing of a newly formed company resulting from a corporate consolidation, etc., that results in a TOPIX constituent being delisted and the new company being included in TOPIX.
 
Listing date of the newly formed company (normally two business days following delisting date).
 
Stock price at the end of trading on the business day before the delisting date. The stock price at the end of trading on the business day before the delisting date is used to calculate TOPIX for the period from the delisting date to the removal date.
Removal
 
A constituent is to be delisted due to a reason other than as described in the preceding scenario.

Delisting date
 
Stock price at the end of trading on the business day before adjustment date.
Removal

A constituent’s securities are designated to be delisted or designated as a security on alert.

Four business days after designation.  If the designation date falls on a holiday, it will be the next business day.
 
Stock price at the end of trading on the business day before adjustment date.
Change in the Number of Shares
Changes in the number of shares and the price of the shares for adjustments to the base market value will be made as described in the table below.
Event Requiring Adjustment

Adjustment Date

Stock Price Used for Adjustment

PS-22

Change of free-float weight

Date of change

Stock price at the end of trading on the business day before adjustment date
Public offering

Additional listing date (day after payment date). If listing date falls on a holiday, it will be the next business day

Stock price at the end of trading on the business day before adjustment date
Third-party allotment

Five business days after additional listing date (two business days after payment date)

Stock price at the end of trading on the business day before adjustment date
Capital increase through allotment to shareholders

Ex-rights date

Payment price per share
Exercise of subscription warrants

Last business day of the month following exercise

Stock price at the end of trading on the business day before adjustment date
Conversion of preferred shares

Last business day of the month following conversion

Stock price at the end of trading on the business day before adjustment date
Cancellation of treasury stock

Last business day of the month following cancellation

Stock price at the end of trading on the business day before adjustment date
Merger or stock swaps between a non-surviving constituent and another constituent

Delisting date of the non-surviving constituent

Stock price at the end of trading on the business day before adjustment date
Merger or stock swaps other than that described above

Listing change date (effective date)

Stock price at the end of trading on the business day before adjustment date
Rights offering (limited to case where the allotted subscription warrant securities are listed; the case where the allotted subscription warrant securities are not listed is treated as “Exercise of subscription warrants”)

Ex-rights date

Payment price per share
Sale of shares held by the Japanese government (Nippon Telegraph, Telephone and Japan Tobacco and Japan Post Holdings only)

Date determined by JPXI (generally the delivery date)

Stock price at the end of trading on the business day before adjustment date
Demerger (absorption-type)

Listing change date (the effective date)

Stock price at the end of trading on the business day before adjustment date
Other adjustments

Last business day of the month in which the information appears in “Sho-ho” (TSE Notice) or the last business day of the following month

Stock price at the end of trading on the business day before adjustment date
No adjustments will be made to the base market value in the case of a stock split, reverse stock split, or gratis allotment of shares (limited to cases where treasury stock is allotted).
Retroactive adjustments will not be made, even if the previously announced notice that resulted in an index adjustment is revised on the issuer’s report.
Where an event that is not specified in the rules of TOPIX occurs, or if JPXI decides that it is difficult to use its existing methods to calculate TOPIX, JPXI may use an alternate method of index calculation as it deems valid.
License Agreement
We expect to enter into a license agreement with JPXI, in exchange for a fee, whereby we will be permitted to use TOPIX in connection with the offer and sale of the notes. We are not affiliated with JPXI; the only relationship between JPXI and us is the licensing of the use of TOPIX and trademarks relating to TOPIX.

PS-23

The notes are not sponsored, endorsed or promoted by JPXI. No inference should be drawn from the information contained in this document that JPXI makes any representation or warranty, implied or express, to us, any holder of the notes or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the notes in particular or the ability of TOPIX to track general stock market performance.
JPXI determines, composes and calculates TOPIX without regard to the notes. JPXI has no obligation to take into account your interest, or that of anyone else having an interest, in the notes in determining, composing or calculating TOPIX. JPXI is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the terms, prices or amount of the notes and will not be responsible for or participate in any determination or calculation regarding the principal amount of the notes payable at the stated maturity date or upon redemption. JPXI has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing or trading of the notes.
Neither we nor any of our affiliates accepts any responsibility for the calculation, maintenance or publication of TOPIX or any successor index. JPXI disclaims all responsibility for any errors or omissions in the calculation and dissemination of TOPIX or the manner in which TOPIX is applied in determining any initial index level or final index level or any amount payable upon maturity or redemption of the notes.
TOPIX Index Value and TOPIX Marks are subject to the proprietary rights owned by JPXI and JPXI owns all rights and know-how relating to TOPIX such as calculation, publication and use of TOPIX Index Value and relating to TOPIX Marks. JPXI shall reserve the rights to change the methods of calculation or publication, to cease the calculation or publication of TOPIX Index Value or to change TOPIX Marks or cease the use thereof. JPXI makes no warranty or representation whatsoever, either as to the results stemmed from the use of TOPIX Index Value and TOPIX Marks or as to the figure at which TOPIX Index Value stands on any particular day. JPXI gives no assurance regarding accuracy or completeness of TOPIX Index Value and data contained therein. Further, JPXI shall not be liable for the miscalculation, incorrect publication, delayed or interrupted publication of TOPIX Index Value. No securities are in any way sponsored, endorsed or promoted by JPXI.  JPXI shall not bear any obligation to give an explanation of the notes or an advice on investments to any purchaser of the notes or to the public. JPXI neither selects specific stocks or groups thereof nor takes into account any needs of the issuing company or any purchaser of the notes, for calculation of TOPIX Index Value. Including but not limited to the foregoing, JPXI shall not be responsible for any damage resulting from the issue and sale of the notes.
The FTSE® 100 Index
The FTSE® 100 Index (Bloomberg ticker “UKX Index”) is a market capitalization-weighted index of the 100 most highly capitalized U.K.-listed blue chip companies traded on the London Stock Exchange. The UKX was developed with a base level of 1,000 as of December 30, 1983. It is calculated, published and disseminated by FTSE International Limited (“FTSE”), a company owned by the London Stock Exchange Plc (the “Exchange”). Additional information on the UKX is available from the following website: ftserussell.com/. FTSE is under no obligation to continue to publish the UKX and may discontinue publication of the UKX at any time.
The UKX is a market capitalization-weighted index of the 100 most highly capitalized U.K.-listed blue chip companies traded on the London Stock Exchange. FTSE divides the 100 companies included in the UKX into 20 sectors: Automobiles & Parts, Banks, Basic Resources, Chemicals, Construction & Materials, Consumer Products & Services, Energy, Financial Services, Food, Beverages & Tobacco, Health Care, Industrial Goods & Services, Insurance, Media, Personal Care, Drug & Grocery Stores, Real Estate, Retailers, Technology, Telecommunications, Travel & Leisure and Utilities.
Index Composition and Selection Criteria
The UKX consists of the 100 largest U.K.-listed blue chip companies, based on full market capitalization, that pass screening tests for price and liquidity. The UKX is reviewed on a quarterly basis in March, June, September and December based on data from the close of business on the Tuesday before the first Friday of the review month. The FTSE Russell Europe, Middle East & Africa Regional Advisory Committee (the “Committee”), meets quarterly to approve the constituents of the index. These meetings are held on the Wednesday before the first Friday in March, June, September and December. Any constituent changes are implemented after the close of business on the third Friday of the review month (i.e., effective Monday), following the expiration of the ICE Futures Europe futures and options contracts.
Eligibility Standards
Only “premium listed” equity shares, as defined by the Financial Conduct Authority in its Listing Rules Sourcebook, are eligible for inclusion in the UKX. Eligible stocks must pass price and liquidity screens before being included in the index. Additionally, a stock generally must have a minimum free float (as described below) of 25% if the issuing company is U.K. incorporated and greater than 50% if it is non-U.K. incorporated.
Price Screen — With regard to the price screen, the Committee must be satisfied that an accurate and reliable price exists for purposes of determining the market value of a company. To be eligible for inclusion in the UKX, a stock must have a full listing on the London Stock Exchange with a Sterling-denominated price on SETS (SETS is the London Stock Exchange’s trading service for U.K. blue chip securities).
Liquidity Screen — With regard to liquidity, each eligible stock is tested for liquidity annually in June by calculating its median daily trading per month. When calculating the median of daily trades per month of any security, a minimum of five trading days in each month must exist, otherwise the month is excluded from the test. Liquidity is tested from the first business day in May of the previous year to the last business day of April in the current year. The median trade is calculated by ranking each daily trade total and selecting the middle-ranking day. Any period of suspension is not included in the test. The liquidity test is applied on a pro-rata basis where the testing period is less than 12 months. A stock not presently included in the UKX that does not turnover at least 0.025% of its shares in issue (after application of any investability weightings) based on its median daily trade per month in at least ten of the 12 months prior to the annual index review in June will not be eligible for inclusion until the next annual review. An existing constituent failing to trade at least 0.015% of its shares in issue (after the application of any investability weightings) based on its median daily trade per month for at least eight of the 12 months prior to the annual index review will be removed from the UKX and will not be

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eligible for inclusion until the next annual review. New issues will become eligible for inclusion in the index at the quarterly review following their issuance provided that they have a minimum trading record of at least 20 trading days prior to the review date and that they have turned over at least 0.025% of their shares in issue (after the application of any investability weightings) based on their median daily trade per month since listing.
In addition, in order to be included in the UKX, a company is required to have greater than 5% of its voting rights (aggregated across all of its equity securities, including, where identifiable, those that are not listed or trading) in the hands of unrestricted shareholders. Current constituents of this index that who did not meet this requirement had until the September 2022 review to meet the requirement; otherwise they were to be removed from the UKX.
Market Capitalization Ranking — Eligible stocks that pass the price and liquidity screens are ranked by the Committee according to their market capitalization before the application of any adjustments based on the extent to which the shares are publicly traded. Only listed equity shares of a constituent company will be included in the calculation of its market capitalization. Where a company has two or more classes of listed equity, secondary lines will be included in the calculation of the market capitalization of the company based on the market price of that secondary line. The Committee will add a stock to the FTSE® 100 Index at the quarterly review if it has risen to 90th place or above on the full market capitalization rankings and will delete a stock at the quarterly review if it has fallen to 111th place or below on these rankings. Market capitalization rankings are calculated using data as of the close of business on the day before the review.
100 Constituent Limitation — The UKX always contains 100 constituents. If a greater number of companies qualify to be inserted in the index than qualify to be removed, the lowest ranking constituents of the index will be removed so that the total number of stocks remains at 100 following inclusion of those that qualify to be inserted. Likewise, if a greater number of companies qualify to be removed than to be inserted at the quarterly review, securities of the highest ranking companies of the FTSE All-Share Index that are then not included in the UKX will be inserted to match the number of companies being removed, in order to maintain the total at 100.
Index Calculation
The UKX is a market capitalization weighted index. This means that the price movement of a larger company (that is, one representing a larger percentage of the index) will have a greater effect on the level of the index than will the price movement of a smaller company (that is, one representing a smaller percentage of the index).
The value of the UKX is represented by a fraction, (a) the numerator of which is the sum of the product of (i) the price of each component stock, (ii) the number of shares issued for each such component and (iii) a free float factor for each such component (described more fully below), and (b) the denominator of which is a divisor. The divisor represents the total issued share capital of the index on the base date; the divisor may be adjusted as necessary to allow for changes in issued share capital of individual securities without distorting the index.
As noted above, a free float factor is applied to each index component. By employing this approach, FTSE uses the investable market capitalization, not the total market capitalization, of each constituent to determine the value of the UKX. Investable market capitalization is full market capitalization adjust for free float restrictions and foreign ownership limits. The following are excluded from free float: shares directly owned by state, regional, municipal and local governments (excluding shares held by independently managed pension schemes for governments); shares held by sovereign wealth funds where each holding is 10% or greater of the total number of shares in issue; shares held by directors, senior executives and managers of the company, and by their family and direct relations, and by companies with which they are affiliated; shares held within employee share plans; shares held by public companies or by non-listed subsidiaries of public companies; shares held by founders, promoters, former directors, founding venture capital and private equity firms, private companies and individuals (including employees) where the holding is 10% or greater of the total number of shares in issue; all shares where the holder is subject to a lock-in clause (for the duration of that clause, after which free float changes resulting from the expiration of a lock-in clause will be implemented at the next quarterly review subject to the lock-in expiry date occurring on or prior to the share and free float change information cut-off date, which is typically the Friday five weeks prior to effective date); shares held for publicly announced strategic reasons, including shares held by several holders acting in concert; and shares that are subject to ongoing contractual agreements (such as swaps) where they would ordinarily be treated as restricted.
The UKX is recalculated whenever errors or distortions occur that are deemed to be significant. Users of the UKX are notified through appropriate media.
Index Maintenance
The UKX is reviewed quarterly for changes in free float. A stock’s free float is also reviewed and adjusted if necessary following certain corporate events. Adjustments due to mergers and acquisitions are applied to the index after the action is determined to be final, typically after the close of the last trade date of the target company, with provision of appropriate notice. Following the application of an initial free float restriction, a stock’s free float will only be changed if its rounded free float moves more than three percentage points above or below the existing rounded free float. Companies with a free float of 15% or below will not be subject to the three percentage points threshold and will be updated if the change is greater than one percentage point.
Where a UKX company is scheduled to be deleted after the periodic review changes have been announced but before they have been implemented, the highest ranking constituent of the FTSE All-Share Index (which is not currently a member of the UKX) is selected as the replacement company. However, if that replacement company is already scheduled to be added as part of the index review then the next highest-ranking company is selected as the replacement. (The FTSE All-Share Index is designed represent 98% of the full market capitalisation of all companies which qualify as eligible for inclusion in the FTSE UK Index Series.)
Where a company being deleted is already due to be replaced in the UKX as part of the periodic review, it will be replaced by the largest company previously announced as a review addition to the index. In other words, the review addition will be brought forward and implemented concurrent with the intra-quarter deletion.

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If a constituent company is split to form two or more companies, then the resulting companies will be eligible for inclusion as UKX constituents, based on their respective full market capitalizations (before the application of any investability weightings), provided that they qualify in all other respects. Any eligible company resulting from a split that has no available market price after 20 business days will be removed. If a split results in the inclusion of an ineligible non-equity security, such security will remain in the UKX for two trading days and then be removed. If a constituent is delisted or ceases to have a firm quotation, it will be removed from the list of constituents and be replaced by the highest ranking eligible company as at the close of the index calculation two days prior to the deletion.
Capitalization Adjustments
A premium listed secondary line of a company will be considered for index inclusion if its total market capitalization before the application of any adjustments based on the extent to which the shares are publicly traded, is greater than 25% of the total market capitalization of the company’s principal line and the secondary line is eligible, in its own right. Should the total market capitalization of a secondary line fall below 20% of the total market capitalization of the company’s principal line at an annual review, the secondary line will be deleted from the UKX unless its total market capitalization remains above the qualification level for continued inclusion as a constituent of the UKX at that review. Where a company has partly paid shares, these shares, together with the outstanding call(s), are both included in the UKX. Warrants to purchase ordinary shares and convertible securities are not included in the UKX until the quarterly review after they have been exercised or converted.
Share Weighting Changes — For the purposes of computing the UKX, the number of shares in issue for each constituent security is expressed to the nearest share and, to prevent a large number of insignificant weighting changes, the number of shares in issue for each constituent security is amended only when the total shares in issue held within the index system changes by more than 1% on a cumulative basis. Changes will be made quarterly after the close of business on the third Friday of March, June, September and December. The data for free float and share changes prior to the quarterly free-float and share changes cut-off date will be taken.
If a corporate action is applied to a constituent which involves a change in the number of shares in issue, the change in shares will be applied simultaneously with the corporate action. Share and free float changes will be implemented outside of the quarterly update cycle if primary offerings of new shares or secondary offerings of existing shares results in (i) a $1 billion investable market capitalization change, or (ii) a 5% change in index shares and a $250 million investable market capitalization change. Typically, changes will be implemented after the close on the day that the subscription periods close. If discovery of the event occurs more than two days after the close of the subscription period, the changes will be deferred until the next quarterly review.
Shares in Issue Increase — When a company increases the number of shares it has in issue, the market capitalization of that company increases and the total market capitalization will rise accordingly. The index divisor is adjusted to maintain a constant index value.
Weighting Amendments — The market capitalization of a company is adjusted to take account of various corporate actions. To prevent the value of the UKX from changing due to such an event, all corporate actions which affect the market capitalization of the UKX require an offsetting divisor adjustment. By adjusting the divisor, the value of the UKX remains constant before and after the event. Below is a summary of the more frequent corporate actions and their resulting adjustment.

Type of Corporate Action

Adjustment

Adjustment to Divisor
 
Issue of new shares

Share weighting increased

Yes
 
Share repurchase

Share weighting decreased

Yes
 
Bonus issued or stock split

Share weighting and share price adjusted according to the terms of the split

No
Rights Issues — A rights issue is where a company raises new capital by offering shareholders additional shares at a set ratio with a discount to the market price. The rights become attached to the shares on a set date—the ex-date. On this date, the price of the company’s underlying shares will fall by the value of the rights. The effect of the rights issue is to increase the market capitalization of the company by the value of the additional shares created by the rights issue less the value of the fall in the share price. The share weighting of the company and index divisor are also adjusted to prevent the index falling in line with the reduction in the share price on the ex-date.
In the event that the market price is equal to or below the rights offer price at the close of business immediately before trading ex-dividend, no adjustments will be made. In this circumstance, any resulting new shares will only be added to the index weighting once the take-up proportion is known and together with any associated change to the company’s free float. If the rights issue is highly dilutive and the ratio is greater than ten to one, FTSE will include the new shares on a separate temporary line to reflect the market value of the right (together with a temporary line fixed at the value of the outstanding rights subscription price) until the end of the subscription period, at which point the temporary lines will be deleted and the new shares will be merged into the existing share line. In the event the rights issue involves non-equity and the value of the right cannot be determined, there will be no adjustment to the parent stock on the ex-date. The rights line will be included in the index at a value of zero on the ex-date (with no inclusion of the cash call value). If the rights line trades, it will be deleted at the market price after two days. If it does not trade, it will be deleted at a value of zero.
Market Disruption
If there is a system problem or situation in the market that is judged by FTSE to affect the quality of the constituent prices at any time when the index is being calculated, the index will be declared indicative (e.g. normally where a “fast market” exists in the equity market). The message “IND” will be displayed against the index value calculated by FTSE. The Committee must be satisfied that an accurate and reliable price for the purposes of determining the market value of a

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company exists. The Committee may exclude a security from the UKX should it consider that an “accurate and reliable” price is not available.
FTSE will follow the steps set out in the FTSE Russell Index Recalculation Guidelines when determining whether an index or an index series should be recalculated and/or associated data products reissued as a result of an inaccuracy.
License Agreement
The notes are not in any way sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by FTSE or by the Exchange or by The Financial Times Limited (“FT”) and neither FTSE or Exchange or FT makes any warranty or representation whatsoever, expressly or impliedly, either as to the results to be obtained from the use of the FTSE® 100 Index and/or the figure at which the said FTSE® 100 Index stands at any particular time on any particular day or otherwise. The FTSE® 100 Index is compiled and calculated solely by FTSE. However, neither FTSE or the Exchange or FT shall be liable (whether in negligence or otherwise) to any person for any error in the FTSE® 100 Index and neither FTSE or the Exchange or FT shall be under any obligation to advise any person of any error therein. “FTSE100” is a trademark of London Stock Exchange Plc and The Financial Times Limited and are used by FTSE under license. “All-World” is a trademark of FTSE.
Swiss Market Index
The Swiss Market Index (Bloomberg ticker “SMI Index”):

was first launched with a base level of 1,500 as of June 30, 1988; and

is sponsored, calculated, published and disseminated by SIX Group Ltd. (the “index sponsor”).
The Swiss Market Index is a price return free float market capitalization-weighted index of the 20 largest and most liquid stocks traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The Index Team at the SIX Swiss Exchange is responsible for managing the Swiss Market Index and is supported by an Index Commission (advisory board) that provides input on index-related matters, notably in connection with changes to the index rules and adjustments, inclusions and exclusions outside of the established review and acceptance period. The Index Commission meets at least twice annually.
Swiss Market Index Composition and Selection Criteria
The Swiss Market Index is comprised of the 20 highest ranked stocks traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange that have a free float of 20% or more and that are not investment companies. The equity universe is largely Swiss domestic companies; however, in some cases, foreign issuers with a primary listing on the SIX Swiss Exchange or investment companies that do not hold any shares of any other eligible company and that have a primary listing on the SIX Swiss Exchange may be included.
The ranking of each security is determined by a combination of the following criteria:

average free-float market capitalization over the last 12-month period (compared to the total capitalization of the Swiss Performance Index, which serves as a benchmark for the overall Swiss equity market and as the index universe for the Swiss Market Index), and

cumulated order book turnover over the last 12-month period (compared to the total turnover of the Swiss Performance Index).
The Swiss Market Index is reconstituted annually after prior notice of at least two months on the third Friday in September after the close of trading. For companies that were listed during the last 12-month period, the cumulated order book turnover is extrapolated and excludes the first five trading days after listing. The ordinary index reconstitution is based on data from the previous July 1 through June 30. Provisional interim selection (ranking) lists based on the average free-float market capitalization and cumulated order book turnover over the last 12-month period are also published as of the cut off dates of March 31, September 30 and December 31.
The 18 securities with the highest rank are selected for inclusion in the Swiss Market Index. In order to reduce turnover, a buffer is applied for securities ranked 19 to 22. Out of the securities ranked 19 to 22 current components are selected with priority over the other securities. After that, new components are added based on the highest rank until 20 components have been reached.
If a company has primary listings on several exchanges and less than 50% of that company’s total turnover is generated on the SIX Swiss Exchange, it will not be included in the Swiss Market Index unless it satisfies an additional liquidity criteria. For this purpose, all the components of the Swiss Performance Index are ranked based on their cumulated order book turnover over the last 12-month period relative to the total turnover of the Swiss Performance Index. Such a security must rank at least 18 or better in terms of the cumulated order book turnover over the last 12-month period in order to be selected for the Swiss Market Index, and if it ranks 23 or lower, it will be automatically excluded from the Swiss Market Index.
Maintenance of the Swiss Market Index
Constituent Changes. In the case of major market changes as a result of corporate actions, the Swiss Index Committee can decide at the request of the Index Commission that a security should be admitted to the Swiss Market Index outside of the annual review period as long as it clearly fulfills the criteria for inclusion. For the same reasons, a security can also be excluded if the requirements for admission to the Swiss Market Index are no longer fulfilled. As a general rule, extraordinary acceptances into the Swiss Market Index take place after a three-month period on a quarterly basis after the close of trading on the third Friday of March, June, September and December (for example, a security listed on or before the fifth trading day prior to the end of November cannot be included until the following March). If a delisting has been confirmed, it will be removed from the index at the next upcoming ordinary index review on the third Friday in March, June, September and December, with a notice period of at least five trading days. However, if the delisting would be effective before the ordinary index review, the security is excluded from the index on the effective date of the delisting. Similarly, an

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index component which no longer meets the criteria for remaining in the Swiss Market Index due to a pending takeover may be excluded from the index ahead of time. If a company is removed before the ordinary index review, it will be replaced by the highest ranked candidate on the selection list which is not yet part of the index in order to maintain 20 components.
Number of Shares and Free Float. The securities included in the Swiss Market Index are weighted according to their free float market capitalization, subject to the capping factor, as described below. Free float market capitalization is equal to the share price multiplied by the number of shares multiplied by the free float factor. The number of shares is the number of shares in circulation. They constitute the total share capital, which is fully subscribed and fully or partially paid in and registered in the Commercial Register. The capital in circulation does not include conditional or authorized capital.
The free float factor represents the relative proportion of the number of shares that are not in fixed ownership and are therefore freely tradable. The free float factor is only calculated for shares with voting rights. Substantial shares that reach or exceed the threshold of 5% and are in fixed ownership are deducted from the market capitalization. Shares that meet the following conditions are considered to be in fixed ownership:

Shares held by individual persons or groups of persons bound by a shareholders’ agreement.

Shares held by individual persons or groups of persons who, according to publicly known facts, have a long-term interest in the company.
Irrespective of the above provisions, shares held by the groups listed below are counted as free float:

Administrators

Trustees

Investment fund companies

Pension funds

Investment companies
If a person or a group of persons cannot be clearly classified due to their area of activity or the lack of important information, the index sponsor will assess them at its own discretion.
For the calculation of the number of shares in fixed ownership, the SIX Swiss Exchange may use reports submitted to it as well as data gained from issuer surveys that it conducts itself.
If an issuer has listed different categories of shares, these are considered separately when calculating the free float factor.
The number of shares and the free float factors are adjusted after the close of trading on the third Friday of each March, June, September and December. Such changes are pre-announced at least one month before the adjustment date, although the index sponsor reserves the right to take account of recent changes before the adjustment date, so the definite new securities are announced five trading days before implementation.
In order to avoid frequent slight changes to the weighting and to maintain the stability of the Swiss Market Index, extraordinary corporate actions may lead to an adjustment of the number of shares or the free float factor outside of the ordinary index review if:

The corporate action leads to an adjustment of the number of shares of at least 10%

The corporate action leads to an adjustment of the free float factor of at least 5%
Such an adjustment takes effect after a notification period of two trading days based on the information available.
Capped Weightings and Intra-Quarter Breaches. The weight of each index component is reset on a quarterly basis and is equal to its free float market capitalization, which is the number of shares of such index component multiplied by its free float factor, subject to a capping factor that limits the weight of an index constituent to 18% at each ordinary index review. The capping factor of an index constituent with a pro forma weight in the index (i.e., before the application of the capping factor) less than or equal to 18% based on its free float market capitalization is equal to 1 (i.e., the capping factor does not modify the pro forma weight of the index constituent). The capping factor of an index constituent with a pro forma weight in the index greater than 18% based on its free float market capitalization is equal to (a) 18% divided by (b) its pro forma weight in the index. The excess weight (the difference of the pro forma weight minus the capped weight) is distributed proportionally across the other index constituents. The index constituents are also capped to 18% between two ordinary index reviews as soon as two index components each exceed a weight of 20% (an “intra-quarter breach”). If an intra-quarter breach is observed after the close of the trading, the new capping factors are implemented after the close of the following trading day so that the weight of each such index component does not exceed 18% effective after the close of the following trading day. If an issuer is represented in the Swiss Market Index by more than one security, the free float market capitalization of those securities is cumulated for the calculation of the capping factors.
Calculation of the Swiss Market Index
The index sponsor calculates the Swiss Market Index using the “Laspeyres formula,” which is a formula that measures the change in value of a basket of goods relative to its initial value. The formula for calculating the index value can be expressed as follows:
 
Swiss Market Index (SMI®)  =
Free Float Market
Capitalization
of the Swiss Market Index
Divisor
 
The “free float market capitalization of the Swiss Market Index” is equal to the sum of the product of the last-paid price, the number of shares, the free float factor, the capping factor and, if a foreign stock is included, the current CHF exchange rate as of the time the index value is being calculated. The index value is calculated in real time and is updated whenever

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a trade is made in a component stock. Where any Swiss Market Index component stock price is unavailable on any trading day, the index sponsor will use the last available price for such index component. Only prices from the SIX Swiss Exchange’s electronic order book are used in calculating the Swiss Market Index.
Divisor Value and Adjustments
The divisor is a technical number used to calculate the index and is adjusted to reflect changes in market capitalization due to corporate events.
Below are common corporate events and their impact on the divisor of the index.
 
Event
 
Divisor Change?
 
Regular cash dividend
 
No
 
Share split
 
No
 
Rights issue
 
If the rights issue is used to raise capital, the divisor increases.
If the rights issue is used to return capital, the divisor decreases.


 
Merger & Acquisition Activities
Mergers and acquisitions are corporate actions in which the ownership structure of one or more companies is changed. This may result in the disappearance of the companies involved (delisting) and in the formation of a new company (merger) or the integration of one company into the other (acquisition). The corporate action may lead to a new listing or a delisting, resulting in an adjustment of the index composition. In both cases, a change in the number of shares or the free float factor of the companies involved is possible, which may also lead to an adjustment outside the regular review cycle. Such an adjustment will take effect on the basis of the interim and final results and considering a notice period of two trading days.
Spinoff
A spinoff occurs when a company sells parts of its business into a new company and lists its shares. The shares of this newly formed company are equally distributed to the shareholders of the existing company. Therefore, a spinoff is generally treated like an extraordinary payment. However, no market price is available on the ex-date of the spinoff. In order to obtain such a market price, the spun off company is added to the index with a reference price during the ex-date, meaning that the number of index components is temporarily increased by one. The index adjustments to market value are made on the trading day following the ex-date based on the closing price on the ex-date.
License Agreement
The notes are not in any way sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by the SIX Swiss Exchange Ltd and the SIX Swiss Exchange Ltd makes no warranty or representation whatsoever, express or implied, either as to the results to be obtained from the use of the Swiss Market Index and/or the figure at which the Swiss Market Index stands at any particular time on any particular day or otherwise. However, the SIX Swiss Exchange Ltd shall not be liable (whether in negligence or otherwise) to any person for any error in the Swiss Market Index and the SIX Swiss Exchange Ltd shall not be under any obligation to advise any person of any error therein.
® SIX Group, SIX Swiss Exchange, SPI, Swiss Performance Index (SPI), SPI EXTRA, SPI ex SLI, SMI, Swiss Market Index (SMI), SMI MID (SMIM), SMI Expanded, SXI, SXI Real Estate, SXI Swiss Real Estate, SXI Life Sciences, SXI Bio+Medtech, SLI, SLI Swiss Leader Index, SBI, SBI Swiss Bond Index, SAR, SAR SWISS AVERAGE RATE, SARON, SCR, SCR SWISS CURRENT RATE, SCRON, SAION, SCION, VSMI and SWX Immobilienfonds Index are trademarks that have been registered in Switzerland and/or abroad by SIX Group Ltd respectively SIX Swiss Exchange Ltd. Their use is subject to a license.
The S&P®/ASX 200 Index
The S&P®/ASX 200 Index (Bloomberg ticker “AS51 Index”):
was first launched in 1979 by the Australian Securities Exchange and was acquired and re-launched by its current index sponsor on April 3, 2000; and
is sponsored, calculated, published and disseminated by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC.
The S&P®/ASX 200 Index includes 200 of the largest and most liquid stocks listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (“ASX”) by float-adjusted market capitalization.
Listing
Only stocks listed on the ASX are considered for inclusion in the S&P®/ASX 200 Index.
Domicile
The S&P®/ASX 200 Index draws from the entire universe of ASX listed stocks, which includes both primary and secondary listings on the ASX. A secondary listing occurs when the ASX is not the primary exchange and the stock is listed in multiple

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markets. This includes foreign-domiciled entities that are incorporated or registered overseas and have their primary listing on an exchange other than the ASX..
Eligible Securities
To be eligible, all common and equity preferred stocks (which are not of a fixed income nature) must be classified by the Global Industry Classification Standard (“GICS®”). Hybrid stocks such as convertible stock, bonds, warrants and preferred stock that provide a guaranteed fixed return are not eligible. Listed investment companies and listed investment trusts that invest in a portfolio of securities are not eligible for inclusion. Equity and Mortgage REITs are eligible for inclusion. Companies that are currently the target of an acquisition are ineligible for inclusion.
Float-Adjusted Market Capitalization
Constituent companies for the S&P®/ASX 200 Index are chosen based on float-adjusted market capitalization.
The float-adjusted market capitalization is determined based on the security’s ASX stock price history over the last six months (adjusted for price-adjusting corporate actions), the latest available number of shares and the investable weight factor (the “IWF”).
Number of Shares
When considering the index eligibility of securities for inclusion or promotion into the index, the number of index securities under consideration is based upon the latest available ASX quoted securities. For domestic securities (companies incorporated in Australia and traded on the ASX, companies incorporated overseas but exclusively listed on the ASX and companies incorporated overseas and traded on other overseas markets but most of its trading activity is on the ASX), this figure is purely based upon the latest available data from the ASX.
For foreign-domiciled securities, S&P will quote the number of index securities that are represented by CHESS Depositary Interests (“CDIs”) for a foreign entity. When CDIs are not issued, S&P will use the total securities held on the Australian register (CHESS and, where supplied, the issuer sponsored register). This quoted number for a foreign entity is representative of the Australian equity capital, thereby allowing the S&P®/ASX 200 Index to be increasingly reflective of the Australian market.
The number of CDIs or shares of a foreign entity quoted on the ASX can experience more volatility than is typically the case for ordinary shares on issue. Therefore, an average number will be applied over a three-month period. For CDIs that have been on issue for less than three months, the available history will be applied.
Where CDI information is not supplied to the ASX by the company or the company’s share register, estimates for Australian equity capital will be drawn from CHESS data and, ultimately, registry-sourced data.
IWF
The index is float-adjusted, meaning that the share counts used in calculating the index reflect only those shares available to investors, rather than all of a company’s outstanding shares. S&P seeks to exclude shares held by long-term, strategic shareholders, a group that generally includes the following: officers and directors and related individuals whose holdings are publicly disclosed (“D&O shares”), private equity, venture capital, special equity firms, asset managers and insurance companies with direct board of director representation, holders of restricted shares (except for shares held as part of a lock-up agreement), company-sponsored employee share plans/trusts, defined contribution plans/savings, investment plans, foundations or family trusts associated with the company, government entities at all levels (except government retirement or pension funds), sovereign wealth funds and any individual person listed as a 5% or greater stakeholder in a company as reported in regulatory filings (collectively, “strategic holders”). To this end, S&P excludes all share holdings with a position greater than 5% of the outstanding shares of a company from the float-adjusted share count to be used in index calculations (other than depositary banks, pension funds (including government pension and retirement funds), mutual funds, exchange traded fund providers, investment funds, asset managers that do not have direct board of director representation, investment funds of insurance companies and independent foundations not associated with the company). D&O shares are excluded from the float even if, as a group, the total D&O shares is less than 5%, provided that there are other strategic holdings greater than 5%.
The exclusion is accomplished by calculating an investable weight factor (IWF) for each stock that is included in the index as follows:
IWF = (available float shares)/(total shares outstanding)
where available float shares is defined as total shares outstanding less shares held by strategic holders. In most cases, an IWF is reported to the nearest one percentage point. For companies with multiple share class lines, a separate IWF is calculated for each share class line.
A company must have a minimum IWF of 0.3 to be eligible for inclusion in the index; however, an IWF at or above 0.3 is not necessary for ongoing index membership.
IWFs are reviewed annually as part of the September quarterly rebalancing. In addition to the annual IWF review, certain events may warrant an intra-quarter or quarterly IWF update.

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Liquidity Test
Only stocks that are regularly traded are eligible for inclusion. Stocks require a minimum relative liquidity of 50% for inclusion in the index. Any stock’s relative liquidity that drops below half of the 50% threshold becomes ineligible and is removed at the next quarterly review. The relatively liquidity of a stock is calculated as follows:
Relative liquidity = stock median liquidity/market liquidity
where stock median liquidity is the stock’s median daily value traded on the ASX divided by the stock’s average float-adjusted market capitalization for the last six months and market liquidity is determined using the market capitalization weighted average of the stock median liquidities of the 500 constituents in the All Ordinaries index, which measures the performance of the total Australian equity market and is composed of the 500 largest securities listed on the ASX, with no liquidity screen or minimum IWF requirement.
Index Maintenance
S&P rebalances constituents quarterly to ensure adequate market capitalization and liquidity. The reference date used for the trading data is the second to last Friday of the month prior to the rebalancing. Quarterly review changes take effect after the market close on the third Friday of March, June, September and December. Eligible stocks are considered for index inclusion based on their float-adjusted market capitalization rank relative to the stated quota of 200 securities.
In order to limit the level of index turnover, an eligible non-constituent stock will generally only be considered for index inclusion once a current constituent stock is excluded due to a sufficiently low rank and/or liquidity, based on the float-adjusted market capitalization. Generally, an eligible non-constituent securities must rank 179th or higher to be added to the index and a current constituent stock must rank 221st or lower in order to deleted from the index. These buffers aim to limit the level of index turnover that may take place at each quarterly rebalancing and serve as the guidelines for the Index Committee to arrive at any potential constituent changes to the index. However, the Index Committee has complete discretion to bypass these rules when circumstances warrant.
Between rebalancing dates, an index addition is generally made only if a vacancy is created by an index deletion. Index additions are made according to float-adjusted market capitalization and liquidity. When a company is added intra-quarter, it assumes the weight of the company it replaces. In all other cases, additions will be made only at quarterly rebalancings.
A company that is spun-off by an index constituent is added to the index at a zero price on the ex-date. Should the spun-off company not be considered eligible for the index on the basis of its float-adjusted market capitalization, then it will be removed from the index after at least one day of regular way trading.
An initial public offering is added to the S&P®/ASX 200 Index only when an appropriate vacancy occurs or due to a rebalance, and is subject to proven liquidity for at least eight weeks. An exception may be made for extraordinary large offerings where sizeable trading volumes justify index inclusion.
Deletions can occur between index rebalancing dates due to acquisitions, mergers and spin-offs or due to suspension or bankruptcies. The decision to remove a stock from the S&P®/ASX 200 Index will be made once there is sufficient evidence that the transaction will be completed. Stocks that are removed due to mergers and acquisitions are removed from the S&P®/ASX 200 Index at the closing price of the security on the deletion date for cash-only offers. Otherwise, the best available price in the market is used.
The share count for each index constituent is reviewed quarterly, and is rounded to the nearest thousand.
Share updates for foreign-domiciled securities will take place at each quarterly rebalancing. The update to the number of shares outstanding will only take place when the three-month average of CDIs or the total securities held in the Australian branch of issuer sponsored register (where supplied) and in CHESS, on the rebalancing reference date, differs from the current number of shares used by 5% or more. Where CDI information is not supplied to the ASX by the company or the company’s share register, estimates for Australian equity capital will be drawn from CHESS data and, ultimately, registry-sourced data.
Intra-Quarter Changes to the Number of Shares of a Constituent
Certain mandatory actions, such as mergers or acquisition driven share/IWF changes, stock splits and mandatory distributions are not subject to a minimum threshold for implementation and are implemented when the transaction occurs. Material share/IWF changes resulting from certain non-mandatory corporate actions follow the accelerated implementation rule (defined below) with sufficient advance notification.
Accelerated Implementation Rule
1. Public offerings. Public offerings of new company-issued shares and/or existing shares offered by selling shareholders, including block sales and spot secondaries, will be eligible for accelerated implementation treatment if the size of the event meets the materiality threshold criteria:
(a) at least US $150 million, and
(b) at least 5% of the pre-event total shares.
In addition to the materiality threshold, public offerings must satisfy the following conditions:
be underwritten.
have a publicly available prospectus, offering document, or prospectus summary filed with the relevant authorities.
have a publicly available confirmation from an official source that the offering has been completed.
For public offerings that involve a concurrent combination of new company shares and existing shares offered by selling shareholders, both events are implemented if either of the public offerings represent at least 5% of total shares and US $150 million. Any concurrent share repurchase by the affected company will also be included in the implementation.

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2. Dutch Auctions, self-tender offer buybacks, and split-off exchange offers. These nonmandatory corporate action types will be eligible for accelerated implementation treatment regardless of size once their results are publicly announced and verified by S&P.
For companies with multiple share class lines, the criteria specified above applies to each individual multiple share class line rather than total company shares.
Exception to the Accelerated Implementation Rule
For non-mandatory corporate actions subject to the accelerated implementation rule with a size of at least US $1 billion, S&P will apply the share change, and any resulting IWF change, using the latest share and ownership information publicly available at the time of the announcement, even if the offering size is below the 5% threshold. This exception ensures that very large events are recognized in a timely manner using the latest available information.
Any non-fully paid or non-fully settled offering such as forward sales agreements are not eligible for accelerated implementation. Share updates resulting from completion of subscription receipts terms or the settlement of forward sale agreements are updated at a future quarterly share rebalance.
All non-mandatory events not covered by the accelerated implementation rule (including but not limited to private placements, acquisition of private companies, and conversion of non-index share lines) will be implemented quarterly coinciding with the third Friday of the third month in each calendar quarter. In addition, events that were not implemented under the accelerated implementation rule but were found to have been eligible (e.g. due to lack of publicly available information at the time of the event) are implemented as part of a quarterly rebalancing.
Announcement Policy
For accelerated implementation, S&P will provide two (2) business days’ notice for all non-U.S. listed stocks, U.S. listed depositary receipts and interlisted stocks, and one (1) business days’ notice for all non-depositary receipt U.S. listed stocks.
IWF Updates
Accelerated implementation for events less than US$1 billion will include an adjustment to the company’s IWF only to the extent that such an IWF change helps the new float share total mimic the shares available in the offering. To minimize unnecessary turnover, these IWF changes do not need to meet any minimum threshold requirement for implementation. Any IWF change resulting in an IWF of 0.96 or greater is rounded up to 1.00 at the next annual IWF review. For accelerated implementation of events of at least US$1 billion, any change in a company’s IWF will include the latest share and ownership information publicly available at the time of the announcement.
IWF changes will only be made at the quarterly review if the change represents at least 5% of total current shares outstanding and is related to a single corporate action that did not qualify for the accelerated implementation rule.
Quarterly share change events resulting from the conversion of derivative securities, acquisitions of private companies, or acquisitions of non-index companies that do not trade on a major exchange are considered to be available to investors unless there is explicit information stating that the new owner is a strategic holder.
Other than the situations described above, IWF changes are only made at the annual IWF review.
Rebalancing Guidelines – Share/IWF Freeze
A share/IWF freeze period is implemented during each quarterly rebalancing. The freeze period begins after the market close on the Tuesday prior to the second Friday of each rebalancing month (i.e. March, June, September, and December) and ends after the market close on the third Friday of the rebalancing month. Pro-forma files are generally released after the market close on the first Friday, two weeks prior to the rebalancing effective date. For illustration purposes, if rebalancing pro-forma files are scheduled to be released on Friday, March 5, the share/IWF freeze period will begin after the close of trading on Tuesday, March 9 and will end after the close of trading the following Friday, March 19 (i.e. the third Friday of the rebalancing month).
During the share/IWF freeze period, shares and IWFs are not changed, and the accelerated implementation rule is suspended, except for mandatory corporate action events (such as merger activity, stock splits, and rights offerings). The suspension includes all changes that qualify for accelerated implementation and would typically be announced or effective during the share/IWF freeze period. At the end of the freeze period all suspended changes will be announced on the third Friday of the rebalancing month, and implemented five business days after the quarterly rebalancing effective date.
Index Calculation
The S&P®/ASX 200 Index is calculated using a base-weighted aggregate methodology. The value of the S&P®/ASX 200 Index on any day for which an index value is published is determined by a fraction, the numerator of which is the aggregate of the price of each stock in the S&P®/ASX 200 Index times the number of shares of such stock included in the S&P®/ASX 200 Index times that stock’s IWF, and the denominator of which is the divisor, which is described more fully below.
In order to prevent the value of the S&P®/ASX 200 Index from changing due to corporate actions, all corporate actions may require S&P to make an index or divisor adjustment. This helps maintain the value of the index and ensures that the movement of the S&P®/ASX 200 Index does not reflect the corporate actions of the individual companies that comprise the S&P®/ASX 200 Index.
The table below summarizes the types of index adjustments and their consequences under the index methodology:

Corporate Action
 
Treatment
 

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Company addition/deletion
 
 
Addition
Companies are added at the float market capitalization weight. The net change to the index market capitalization causes a divisor adjustment.
Deletion
The weights of all stocks in the index will proportionally change. Relative weights will stay the same. The index divisor will change due to the net change in the index market capitalization.
 
 
Change in shares outstanding
 
Increasing (decreasing) the shares outstanding increases (decreases) the market capitalization of the index. The change to the index market capitalization causes a divisor adjustment.
 
 
Split/reverse split
 
Shares outstanding are adjusted by split ratio. The stock price is adjusted by the split ratio. There is no change to the index market capitalization and no divisor adjustment.
 
 
Spin-off
 
The spin-off is added to the index on the ex-date at a price of zero. The spin-off index shares are based on the spin-off ratio. On the ex-date, the spin-off will have the same attributes as its parent company, and will remain in the index for at least one trading day. As a result, there will be no change to the index divisor on the ex-date.
If the spin-off is ineligible for continued inclusion, it will be removed after the ex-date. The weight of the spin-off being deleted is reinvested across all the index components proportionally such that the relative weights of all index components are unchanged. The net change in index market capitalization will cause a divisor change.
 
 
Change in IWF
 
Increasing (decreasing) the IWF increases (decreases) the market capitalization of the index. A net change to the index market capitalization causes a divisor adjustment.
 
 
Ordinary dividend
 
When a company pays an ordinary cash dividend, the index does not make any adjustments to the price or shares of the stock. As a result, there are no divisor adjustments to the index.
 
 
Special dividend
 
The stock price is adjusted by the amount of the dividend. The net change to the index market capitalization causes a divisor adjustment.
 
 
Rights offering
 
All rights offerings that are in the money on the ex-date are applied under the assumption the rights are fully subscribed. The stock price is adjusted by the value of the rights and the shares outstanding are increased by the rights ratio. The net change in market capitalization causes a divisor adjustment.
 

Recalculation Policy
S&P reserves the right to recalculate and republish the S&P®/ASX 200 Index at its discretion in the event one of the following occurred:
incorrect or revised closing price of one or more constituent securities;
missed or misapplied corporate event;
incorrect application of corporate action or index methodology;
late announcement of a corporate action; or
incorrect calculation or data entry error.
The decision to recalculate the index is made at the discretion of S&P’s index manager and/or the S&P’s Australian Index Committee (the “ASX Committee”), as further discussed below. The potential market impact or disruption resulting from a recalculation is considered when making any such decision. In the event of one of the above events, other than as described in the third bullet, is discovered within two trading days of its occurrence, generally the index is recalculated. If such event is discovered beyond the two-trading day period, the ASX Committee shall decide whether the index should be recalculated. In the event of an incorrect application of the methodology that results in the incorrect composition and/or weighting of index constituents, the ASX Committee shall determine whether or not to recalculate the index following specified guidelines. If the index is recalculated, it shall be done within a reasonable timeframe following the detection and review of the issue.
Calculations and Pricing Disruptions
Prices used to calculate the index are obtained from ICE and Refinitiv. If the primary vendor experiences a disruption or failure, S&P will switch to the alternate vendor. Real-time calculated and published values will be disrupted until the vendor switch is implemented. If the exchange suffers a failure or interruption, real-time calculations for the index including relevant securities will be impacted until the issue is resolved. During such disruption events, S&P will continue to calculate and publish index values with the latest available prices. This may result in the index flat-lining (e.g., no change in value) in a complete outage or partially updating in the event some constituent securities are not impacted by the disruption. In extreme circumstances, S&P may decide to delay index adjustments or not publish the index.

PS-33

Unexpected Exchange Closures

An unexpected market/exchange closure occurs when a market/exchange fully or partially fails to open or trading is temporarily halted. This can apply to a single exchange or to a market as a whole, when all of the primary exchanges are closed and/or not trading. Unexpected market/exchange closures are usually due to unforeseen circumstances, such as natural disasters, inclement weather, outages, or other events.
In the event of an unexpected exchange closure, S&P uses the following guidelines:
if an unexpected exchange closure occurs prior to the open of trading and it is indicated that trading will not open for a given day, S&P will treat the day as an unscheduled market holiday.
if a market disruption occurs intraday, S&P will wait for the impacted exchange to publish a list of closing prices, which will then be used to calculate the closing index values. If no list is published, the last trade for each security before the interruption is used to calculate the index closing value. If no trades were reported for a security, the previous closing price, adjusted for corporate actions, is used for index calculation.

License Agreement
The S&P®/ASX 200 Index is published and maintained by the S&P Australian Index Committee (the “ASX Committee”), a team of representatives from both Standard & Poor’s and the Australian Stock Exchange. The S&P®/ASX 200 Index is composed of the S&P®/ASX 100 stocks plus an additional 100 stocks selected by the ASX Committee. The S&P®/ASX 200 Index essentially covers large-cap and mid-cap stocks evaluated for liquidity and size. Additional information concerning the S&P®/ASX 200 Index may be obtained from the Australian Stock Exchange website at asx.com.au. We are not incorporating by reference the website or any material it includes in this pricing supplement.

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Historical Performance of the Basket Underliers
The respective closing levels of the basket underliers have fluctuated in the past and may experience significant fluctuations in the future. Any historical upward or downward trend in the closing levels of the basket underliers during any period shown below is not an indication that the basket underliers are more or less likely to increase or decrease at any time during the term of the notes.
The historical levels of the basket underliers are provided for informational purposes only. You should not take the historical levels of the basket underliers as an indication of their future performance. We cannot give you any assurance that the future performance of the basket, the basket underliers or the underlier stocks will result in your receiving an amount greater than the original issue price at maturity. Neither we nor any of our affiliates makes any representation to you as to the performance of the basket underliers. Moreover, in light of current market conditions, the trends reflected in the historical performance of the basket underliers may be less likely to be indicative of the performance of the basket underliers over the term of the notes than would otherwise have been the case. The actual performance of the basket and the basket underliers over the term of the notes, as well as the cash settlement amount, may bear little relation to the historical levels shown below.
The graphs below show the daily historical closing levels of the EURO STOXX 50® Index, the TOPIX®, the FTSE® 100 Index, the Swiss Market Index and the S&P®/ASX 200 Index from May 21, 2014 through May 21, 2024. We obtained the closing levels of the basket underliers listed in the graph below from Bloomberg Financial Services, without independent verification.
Historical Performance of the EURO STOXX 50® Index

Historical Performance of the TOPIX®

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Historical Performance of the FTSE® 100 Index

Historical Performance of the Swiss Market Index

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Historical Performance of the S&P®/ASX 200 Index

PS-37

Historical Performance of the Basket
The following graph is based on the basket closing levels for the period from May 21, 2014 through May 21, 2024, assuming that the basket closing level was 100 on May 21, 2014. We derived the basket closing levels based on the method to calculate the basket closing level as described in this pricing supplement and on actual closing levels of the relevant basket underliers on the relevant dates.

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SUPPLEMENTAL DISCUSSION OF U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES
The following disclosure supplements, and to the extent inconsistent supersedes, the discussion in the product prospectus supplement dated December 20, 2023 under “Supplemental Discussion of U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences.”
Under Section 871(m) of the Code, a “dividend equivalent” payment is treated as a dividend from sources within the United States. Such payments generally would be subject to a 30% U.S. withholding tax if paid to a non-U.S. holder.  Under U.S. Treasury Department regulations, payments (including deemed payments) with respect to equity-linked instruments (“ELIs”) that are “specified ELIs” may be treated as dividend equivalents if such specified ELIs reference, directly or indirectly, an interest in an “underlying security,” which is generally any interest in an entity taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes if a payment with respect to such interest could give rise to a U.S. source dividend. However, the IRS has issued guidance that states that the U.S. Treasury Department and the IRS intend to amend the effective dates of the U.S. Treasury Department regulations to provide that withholding on dividend equivalent payments will not apply to specified ELIs that are not delta-one instruments and that are issued before January 1, 2025. Based on our determination that the notes are not delta-one instruments, non-U.S. holders should not be subject to withholding on dividend equivalent payments, if any, under the notes. However, it is possible that the notes could be treated as deemed reissued for U.S. federal income tax purposes upon the occurrence of certain events affecting any basket underlier or the notes (for example, upon a basket underlier rebalancing), and following such occurrence the notes could be treated as subject to withholding on dividend equivalent payments. Non-U.S. holders that enter, or have entered, into other transactions in respect of any basket underlier or the notes should consult their tax advisors as to the application of the dividend equivalent withholding tax in the context of the notes and their other transactions. If any payments are treated as dividend equivalents subject to withholding, we (or the applicable withholding agent) would be entitled to withhold taxes without being required to pay any additional amounts with respect to amounts so withheld.
SUPPLEMENTAL PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION (CONFLICTS OF INTEREST)
We have agreed to sell to RBCCM, and RBCCM has agreed to purchase from us, the principal amount of the notes specified, at the price specified, on the cover page of this pricing supplement. RBCCM has informed us that, as part of its distribution of the notes, it will reoffer them at a purchase price equal to 100.00% of the principal amount to one or more other dealers who will sell them to their customers. A fee will be paid to iCapital Markets LLC, a broker-dealer with no affiliation with us, for services it is providing in connection with this offering. An affiliate of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, which is acting as a dealer in connection with the distribution of the notes, holds an indirect minority equity interest in iCapital Markets, LLC. In the future, RBCCM or one of its affiliates, may repurchase and resell the notes in market-making transactions, with resales being made at prices related to prevailing market prices at the time of resale or at negotiated prices. For more information about the plan of distribution, the distribution agreement and possible market-making activities, see “Supplemental Plan of Distribution” in the accompanying prospectus supplement. For additional information as to the relationship between us and RBCCM, please see the section “Plan of Distribution―Conflicts of Interest” in the accompanying prospectus.
RBCCM, acting as agent for Royal Bank of Canada, will not receive an underwriting discount in connection with the sale of the notes.
We will deliver the notes against payment therefor in New York, New York on May 29, 2024, which is the fifth scheduled business day following the trade date. Under Rule 15c6-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, trades in the secondary market generally are required to settle in two business days, unless the parties to any such trade expressly agree otherwise. Accordingly, purchasers who wish to trade notes on any date prior to two business days before delivery will be required, by virtue of the fact that the notes will settle in five business days (T + 5), to specify alternative settlement arrangements to prevent a failed settlement.
RBCCM may use this pricing supplement in the initial sale of the notes. In addition, RBCCM or any other affiliate of Royal Bank of Canada may use this pricing supplement in a market-making transaction in a note after its initial sale. Unless RBCCM or its agent informs the purchaser otherwise in the confirmation of sale, this pricing supplement is being used in a market-making transaction.
RBCCM or another of our affiliates may make a market in the notes after the trade date; however, it is not obligated to do so. The price that it makes available from time to time after the issue date at which it would be willing to repurchase the notes will generally reflect its estimate of their value. That estimated value will be based upon a variety of factors, including then prevailing market conditions, our creditworthiness and transaction costs. However, for a period of approximately three months after the trade date, the price at which RBCCM may repurchase the notes may be higher than their estimated value at that time. This is because the estimated value of the notes will not include our hedging costs and profits; however, the price at which RBCCM may repurchase the notes during that period may initially be a higher amount, reflecting the addition of a portion of our estimated costs and profits from hedging the notes. This excess is expected to decrease over time until the end of this period. After this period, if RBCCM continues to make a market in the notes, the prices that it would pay for them are expected to reflect its estimated value, as well as customary bid-ask spreads for similar trades. In addition, the value of the notes shown on your account statement may not be identical to the price at which RBCCM would be willing to purchase the notes at that time, and could be lower than RBCCM’s price.
STRUCTURING THE NOTES
The notes are our debt securities. As is the case for all of our debt securities, including our structured notes, the economic terms of the notes reflect our actual or perceived creditworthiness. In addition, because structured notes result in increased operational, funding and liability management costs to us, we typically borrow the funds under these notes at a rate that is lower than the rate that we might pay for a conventional fixed or floating rate debt security of comparable maturity. This relatively lower implied borrowing rate, which is reflected in the economic terms of the notes, along with the fees and expenses associated with structured notes, reduced the initial estimated value of the notes at the time their terms were set.

PS-39

In order to satisfy our payment obligations under the notes, we may choose to enter into certain hedging arrangements (which may include call options, put options or other derivatives) with RBCCM and/or one of our other subsidiaries. The terms of these hedging arrangements take into account a number of factors, including our creditworthiness, interest rate movements, and the tenor of the notes. The economic terms of the notes and their initial estimated value depend in part on the terms of these hedging arrangements. Our cost of hedging will include the projected profit that such counterparties expect to realize in consideration for assuming the risks inherent in hedging our obligations under the notes. Because hedging our obligations entails risks and may be influenced by market forces beyond the counterparties’ control, such hedging may result in a profit that is more or less than expected, or could result in a loss. See “Use of Proceeds and Hedging” on page PS-14 of the accompanying product prospectus supplement PB-1.
The lower implied borrowing rate and the hedging-related costs relating to the notes reduced the economic terms of the notes to you and resulted in the initial estimated value for the notes on the trade date being less than their original issue price. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to the Initial Estimated Value of the Notes—Our Initial Estimated Value of the Notes Is Less than the Original Issue Price.”
TERMS INCORPORATED IN THE MASTER NOTE
All of the terms appearing in the section “Summary Information,” including the items captioned “calculation agent” and “U.S. tax treatment,” in this pricing supplement, the terms appearing under the caption “General Terms of the Notes—Defeasance, Default Amount, Other Terms,” the terms appearing under the captions “—Unavailability of the Level of the Underlier,” “—Market Disruption Events,” “—Payment of Additional Amounts” and “— Default Amount on Acceleration” in the product prospectus supplement PB-1 and the applicable terms included in the Series J MTN prospectus supplement, dated December 20, 2023 and the prospectus, dated December 20, 2023 are incorporated into the master global security that represents the notes and is held by The Depository Trust Company.
VALIDITY OF THE NOTES
In the opinion of Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, as Canadian counsel to the Bank, the issue and sale of the notes has been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action of the Bank in conformity with the Indenture, and when the notes have been duly executed, authenticated and issued in accordance with the Indenture and delivered against payment therefor, the notes will be validly issued and, to the extent validity of the notes is a matter governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario or Québec, or the federal laws of Canada applicable therein, will be valid obligations of the Bank, subject to the following limitations: (i) the enforceability of the Indenture may be limited by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act (Canada), the Winding-up and Restructuring Act (Canada) and bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, receivership, moratorium, arrangement or winding-up laws or other similar laws of general application affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally; (ii) the enforceability of the Indenture is subject to general equitable principles, including the principle that the availability of equitable remedies, such as specific performance and injunction, may only be granted at the discretion of a court of competent jurisdiction; (iii) under applicable limitations statutes generally, including that the enforceability of the Indenture will be subject to the limitations contained in the Limitations Act, 2002 (Ontario), and such counsel expresses no opinion as to whether a court may find any provision of the Indenture to be unenforceable as an attempt to vary or exclude a limitation period under such applicable limitations statutes; (iv) rights to indemnity and contribution under the notes or the Indenture which may be limited by applicable law; and (v) courts in Canada are precluded from giving a judgment in any currency other than the lawful money of Canada and such judgment may be based on a rate of exchange in existence on a day other than the day of payment, as prescribed by the Currency Act (Canada). This opinion is given as of the date hereof and is limited to the laws of the Provinces of Ontario and Québec and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein. In addition, this opinion is subject to customary assumptions about the Trustee’s authorization, execution and delivery of the Indenture and the genuineness of signatures and to such counsel’s reliance on the Bank and other sources as to certain factual matters, all as stated in the opinion letter of such counsel dated December 20, 2023, which has been filed as Exhibit 5.3 to the Bank’s Form 6-K filed with the SEC dated December 20, 2023.
In the opinion of Ashurst LLP, when the notes have been duly completed in accordance with the Indenture and issued and sold as contemplated by the prospectus supplement and the prospectus, the notes will be valid, binding and enforceable obligations of the Bank, entitled to the benefits of the Indenture, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent transfer, reorganization, moratorium and similar laws of general applicability relating to or affecting creditors’ rights and subject to general principles of equity, public policy considerations and the discretion of the court before which any suit or proceeding may be brought. This opinion is given as of the date hereof and is limited to the laws of the State of New York. This opinion is subject to customary assumptions about the Trustee’s authorization, execution and delivery of the Indenture and the genuineness of signatures and to such counsel’s reliance on us and other sources as to certain factual matters, all as stated in the legal opinion dated December 20, 2023, which has been filed as Exhibit 5.4 to our Form 6-K dated December 20, 2023.

PS-40

TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
Pricing Supplement
Summary Information
PS-2
Hypothetical Examples
PS-5
Additional Risk Factors Specific to Your Notes
PS-10
The Basket and the Basket Underliers
PS-17
Supplemental Discussion of U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences
PS-39
Supplemental Plan of Distribution (Conflicts of Interest)
PS-39
Structuring the Notes
PS-39
Terms Incorporated in the Master Note
PS-40
Validity of the Notes
PS-40


Product Prospectus Supplement PB-1 dated December 20, 2023
 
Summary
PS-1
Risk Factors
PS-3
General Terms of the Notes
PS-4
Hypothetical Returns on Your Notes
PS-13
Use of Proceeds and Hedging
PS-14
Historical Underlier Information
PS-15
Supplemental Discussion of Canadian Tax Consequences
PS-16
Supplemental Discussion of U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences
PS-17
Supplemental Plan of Distribution
PS-22

 
Prospectus Supplement dated December 20, 2023
 
About This Prospectus Supplement
i
Risk Factors Summary
S-1
Risk Factors
S-3
 Use of Proceeds
 S-14
Description of the Notes We May Offer
S-15
Certain Income Tax Consequences
S-39
Supplemental Plan of Distribution
S-43
Documents Filed as Part of the Registration Statement
S-45


Prospectus dated December 20, 2023
 
Documents Incorporated by Reference
i
Where You Can Find More Information
ii
Further Information
ii
About This Prospectus
ii
Risk Factors
1
Royal Bank of Canada
1
Presentation of Financial Information
1
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
2
Use of Proceeds
3
Description of Debt Securities
4
Description of Common Shares
25
Description of First Preferred Shares
27
Description of Warrants
29
Non-Viability Contingent Capital Provisions
37
Ownership and Book-Entry Issuance
38
Tax Consequences
44
Plan of Distribution
58
Conflicts of Interest
60
Benefit Plan Investor Considerations
61
Limitations on Enforcement of U.S. Laws Against the Bank, Our Management and Others
62
Validity of Securities
63
Experts
63
Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution
63
We have not authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained or incorporated by reference in this pricing supplement, the accompanying product prospectus supplement PB-1, the accompanying prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. These documents are an offer to sell only the notes offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in each such document is current only as of its respective date.




$2,383,000
 
Royal Bank of Canada
 
Leveraged Buffered Basket-Linked Notes,
due March 6, 2026
 
 
 
 
 
RBC Capital Markets, LLC