TD prepared to cover fines

Article Excerpt

TD BANK, $79.94, is a #1 Buy for 2024. The lender (Toronto symbol TD; Shares o/s: 1.7 billion; Market cap: $139.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.1%; www.td.com) set aside $3.57 billion (or $2.6 billion U.S.) in the quarter ended July 31, 2024, for fines it expects to pay due to lapses in its anti-money laundering processes at its U.S. retail banking operations. That’s in addition to an earlier provision of $615 million. The bank continues to negotiate with U.S. authorities and expects to reach a final settlement by the of year. Meantime, TD is strengthening its compliance systems in both the U.S. and Canada. To help cover its fines, TD has now sold some of its stake in U.S. online brokerage firm Charles Schwab Corp. $3.4 billion. That cuts its interest from 12.3% to 10.1%. TD has also completed a major restructuring plan, which included cutting 3% of its workforce. It expects these moves will save $400 million this year, rising to $725 million…