TD Bank Open to U.S. Deals -- WSJ
December 06 2019 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Vipal Monga
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (December 6, 2019).
Toronto-Dominion Bank Group said it remains poised to take
advantage of acquisition opportunities in the U.S. despite a profit
slump prompted by declining interest rates and worsening credit
quality.
TD reported net income of $2.86 billion Canadian dollars ($2.17
billion), or C$1.54 a share, for the three months ended Oct. 31.
Earnings fell from C$2.94 billion, or C$1.58 a share, in the like
period a year earlier. Adjusted earnings of C$1.59 a share were
down from a year earlier. They missed analysts' projection of
C$1.74 a share, according to FactSet.
Earnings at TD's U.S. subsidiary, which ranks as the
10th-largest U.S. bank by assets, rose 7% from a year earlier to
$900 million. The figure included $219 million in reported earnings
from the bank's 43% stake in broker TD Ameritrade. TD agreed to
back an acquisition of the broker by Charles Schwab Corp. last
month.
Excluding the Ameritrade income, TD's U.S. retail-bank earnings
totaled $681 million, unchanged from last year. Net interest margin
-- the difference between how much the bank pays out for deposits
and how much it charges for loans -- fell 0.09 of a percentage
point to 3.18% in the U.S. The margin will continue to fall on the
back of recent rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, said TD Chief
Financial Officer Riaz Ahmed.
TD will continue to hold a 13.4% stake in a merged
Schwab-Ameritrade entity, and the reported contribution from a
larger firm will likely add more to TD's earnings after a deal is
completed, said Mr. Ahmed. "We think those earnings will grow
substantially," he said.
TD, like its Canadian peers, noted an increase in the capital it
held to meet regulatory requirements. Its capital ratio of 12.1% is
up from 12% a year earlier. The capital buffer, above the minimum
10% required by Canadian regulators, gives TD a cushion it could
deploy for other uses, including acquisitions, said Chief Executive
Bharat Masrani.
"We'll always make sure we have capital flexibility should some
opportunities present themselves," Mr. Masrani said in a call with
analysts. "I'm sure with the type of environment we are seeing and
what we are calling for -- which is challenging -- that certainly
may give us opportunities more so than it might have
previously."
TD increased its provision for credit losses by about one-third
to C$891 million. TD executives called the increase in the
provision "normalization" after several years of historically low
levels. The trend toward weaker credit quality could continue, said
Ajai Bambawale, the bank's chief risk officer.
"Looking to the year ahead, the period of cyclically low loss
rates are likely behind us," he said.
--Allison Prang contributed to this article.
Write to Vipal Monga at vipal.monga@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 06, 2019 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024