A quick look at the performance of Bank of America (BAC) and Royal Bank of Canada(RY) over 5 and 10 years shows the huge disparity in returns. The returns noted are based on share price changes only and do not include dividends.

5-year return of Bank of America and Royal Bank of Canada:

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10-year return of Bank of America and Royal Bank of Canada:

Source: Google Finance

Disclosure: Long RY