Thursday, June 23, 2011

How Come this Canadian Bank is Going Gangbusters in the U.S.?

Toronto-Dominion Bank is currently the eight-largest bank in the U.S. in terms of deposits. Based in Canada, the bank does more business in the U.S. than at home. Wall Street Cheat Street reports that with its $6.3 billion acquisition of Chrysler Financial, it is also one of the top 20 lenders in the country. Given Royal Bank of Canada‘s (NYSE:RY) recent retreat from U.S. operations with its sale of its struggling U.S. retail banking subsidiary to PNC Financial (NYSE:PNC), and the general tendency for Canadian companies to be pushed out of the country by U.S.-based competitors, Toronto-Dominion is an interesting study in how to do business from across the border.

Ed Clark, CEO of Toronto-Dominion, began his expansion into the U.S. market by purchasing just 51% of Banknorth Group of Maine in 2004. There were few opportunities for growth at the time, and it was a relatively small bet, but since then, Toronto-Dominion has made seven more acquisitions in the U.S.

Toronto-Dominion (NYSE:TD), unlike many other large banks, has focused mainly on developing as a retail banking institution. Clark has emphasized the bank’s reputation for convenience and customer service, adding evening and Saturday branch hours and conducting nightly customer satisfaction surveys. The surveys are actually used, instead of financial performance indicators, as a means for determining pay for bank employees. Clark also studied retailers rather than banks to get ideas for how to run his business….

Find out more at:
http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/see-why-this-canadian-bank-is-thriving-in-the-u-s.html/

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