Toronto-Dominion Bank's Chief Executive, Ed Clark, dismissed market speculation that new international capital rules could prompt Canada's second-largest lender to sell its stake in the U.S. online brokerage TD Ameritrade Inc.
"There's no change in our strategy with Ameritrade," Clark said.
Analysts had speculated that TD might divest its 45.9% stake in TD Ameritrade to comply with the new Basel III rules, which could require the bank to pony up more capital. The new rules say banks with minority stakes need to have an additional buffer to guard against the subsidiary failing.
TD will have enough capital to cover its stake in TD Ameritrade when Basel III goes into effect, even with the $900 million hit to capital that it will see from the purchase of the auto lender Chrysler Financial Corp., Clark said in an interview.
"Even if we brought the Ameritrade deduction forward immediately, we would be totally compliant," he said.
