'All eyes on TD' and U.S. probes as Canadian bank earnings begin
BNN Bloomberg
Toronto-Dominion Bank and its US money-laundering woes are set to dominate the start of Canadian bank earnings season this week.
It’s “all eyes on TD,” Bank of America Securities analysts led by Ebrahim Poonawala wrote, noting that investors may be more willing to buy up the bank’s much cheaper stock — if they can get clarity on the potential impact of Toronto-Dominion’s U.S. troubles.
The bank faces an investigation by the Department of Justice as well as three U.S. regulatory agencies. It’s already taken a USUS$450 million provision tied to one of those regulatory probes, while the Justice Department is investigating the bank over its ties to a US$653 million drug money-laundering case, allegedly including the proceeds of fentanyl sales.
Toronto-Dominion has said that it’s already invested more than $500 million (US$366 million) to upgrade its anti-money laundering controls and that it hopes to soon reach a “global resolution” of the probes. Analysts have forecast that total fines could be in the range of US$2 billion and some have warned that the bank could also face restrictions on its U.S. growth.
