Canadian and U.S. growth spurs TD

Article Excerpt

Toronto-Dominion Bank reported higher earnings in the latest quarter for both its Canadian and U.S. businesses. Lower unemployment and stronger economic growth continue to lift demand for its loans. More generally, profit for banks in the U.S. and Canada tends to rise following interest rate hikes. That’s because the rates they charge their borrowers usually rise faster than the interest they pay their depositors. TD BANK $71.59 (Toronto symbol TD; Shares outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $132.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.7%; www.td.com) earned $2.95 billion, excluding one-time items, in its fiscal 2018 first quarter, ended January 31, 2018. That’s a 17.3% rise over $2.56 billion a year earlier. Due to more shares outstanding, per-share earnings rose 15.2%, to $1.56 from $1.33. Earnings from Canadian banking operations (58% of the total) increased 12.2%. That gain was due to strong demand for new loans from consumers and businesses, as well as higher interest rates. TD also saw strong growth at its…