TD Bank

TD Bank's guilty plea to extensive money-laundering charges last week did not include any criminal charges against individual bank executives. That absence has critics fuming, but experts say bringing charges against individuals isn't so easy.

For more than a decade, the bank allowed billions of dollars from illicit activities to flow through the U.S. financial system unchecked. Some are wondering why examiners didn't put a stop to it sooner.

The Canadian bank's stateside retail operations will be hamstrung by a massive anti-money-laundering settlement. But executives said the company can lean on both its Wall Street business and lines of revenue north of the border.

The sweeping enforcement actions will be a watershed event for TD Bank's U.S. subsidiary, which had previously been a promising growth engine.

Toronto-Dominion Bank will pay the penalties and agree to restrictions on its U.S. growth in a settlement with regulators over its failure to catch money laundering, the Wall Street Journal reported. Regulators are likely to announce the settlement Thursday.

Regulators have never held a hearing on whether to revoke the charter of a bank convicted of a money-laundering-related violation. As TD Bank nears a "global resolution" in connection with its compliance failures, it's unlikely to buck the trend.

TD Bank must pay more than $20 million to resolve investigations over a former trader's alleged placement of "spoof" orders to manipulate the Treasuries market.

Bharat Masrani, who's been at the Toronto-based bank's helm for a decade, will be succeeded by fellow TD executive Raymond Chun. One big question now is whether an insider or outsider would be better positioned to navigate the company through its AML troubles.

The latest violations come as the bank expects to face more than $3 billion in regulatory fines for anti-money-laundering failures.

The Canadian bank expects to spend more than $3 billion on U.S. regulatory penalties in connection with its anti-money-laundering problems. "It's easy in a bank of our size to sometimes not look at accountabilities as clearly as we should," CEO Bharat Masrani said.

The Toronto-based bank also expects a "global resolution" of investigations by U.S. authorities to be finalized by the end of the year.

The Canadian bank has appointed Erin Morrow, who had served as deputy chief compliance officer for about six months, to replace Monica Kowal, who parted with TD July 2. The announcement comes as TD faces questions by U.S. and Canadian regulators about its anti-money-laundering compliance.

When TD Bank launched an audio brand identity across its communication channels early this year, the new jingle triggered a surprising reaction from consumers using the firm's ATMs.

Executives at the Toronto-based bank said last year that they planned to add 150 branches in the United States. But when pressed on Thursday, they could not say how much they'll scale back their ambitions due to investigations over TD's anti-money laundering practices.

Executives at the Canadian bank, which recently took a major provision for potential fines, say they're working to shore up anti-money laundering controls. At the same time, they're preparing employees and investors for an expensive slog as they work to satisfy U.S. officials.

Toronto-Dominion disclosed last year that it was under investigation by the department. Canada's second-largest lender also faces probes by three U.S. regulators over its handling of suspicious customer transactions.

Toronto-Dominion Bank has taken an initial provision of $450 million in connection with U.S. investigations into its anti-money-laundering practices and said it expects additional penalties to come.

Analysts estimate the probe, which remains unresolved, could lead to a fine of between $500 million and $1 billion, and Toronto-Dominion has already said it is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to improve its risk and control infrastructure. 

TD Bank is among the latest to support Tap to Pay, which allows clients to accept contactless payments on their personal smartphones. Through its investment in Autobooks, it enables others to do the same.

The Toronto bank has been under investigation by U.S. and Canadian supervisors for alleged shortcomings in anti-money-laundering compliance. CEO Bharat Masrani pledged "comprehensive enhancements" but declined to pinpoint the exact fixes and their costs.