The head of Toronto-Dominion Bank says he has his sights set on TD becoming one of the three largest banks in New York, one of the world’s most renowned financial centres.
“TD has big plans in the Big Apple,” Ed Clark told shareholders Thursday at an annual meeting held simultaneously in Toronto and New York.
“In four years, we want to be New York’s third-largest retail bank.”
The Toronto-based bank plans to open more than 50 new branches, or stores as they’re called south of the border, and create hundreds of jobs in the financial capital of North America.
And while Clark says the bank is proud of its hometown’s reputation on the world stage, it eyes are focused on its “ambitious plan” below the border.
“We are proud of our growth story — and Toronto’s emergence as a financial centre,” he said.
“But New York City also happens to be a special point of pride for us.”
TD (TSX:TD) is currently the fifth largest retail bank in New York City, with $11.6 billion in deposits.
The bank — whose slogan south of the border is “America’s most convenient bank” — has grown at a furious rate since entering the U.S. market seven years ago through a series of acquisitions. It now has more than seven million customers from Maine to Florida.
As a result, it has become the sixth-largest North American bank with total assets of $775 billion and more than 85,000 employees.