TD Bank comments on Commerce Bancorp acquisition and expected impact on the earnings of its U.S. Personal and Commercial Banking
April 21 2008 - 8:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
TORONTO, April 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TD Bank Financial Group
(TDBFG) today announced the expected earnings impact of the
completion of its acquisition of Commerce Bancorp on March 31,
2008, and the target earnings of TD's U.S. Personal and Commercial
Banking segment through fiscal 2009. These topics will be discussed
in an investor conference call and audio webcast today, April 21,
2008, at 11:00 a.m. ET. The call will feature presentations by
TDBFG executives, followed by a question and answer period with
investors and analysts. A webcast of the call will be broadcast
live via TD's website. The presentation material referenced during
the call will be available today by 9 a.m on the TDBFG website at
http://www.td.com/investor/current.jsp. A listen-only telephone
line is available at 416-915-5762 or 1-800-594-3790 (toll free).
The webcast and presentations will be archived at
http://www.td.com/investor/calendar_arch.jsp. Replay of the
teleconference will be available from 2:00 p.m. ET on April 21,
2008, until May 21, 2008, by calling 416-640-1917 or 1-877-289-8525
(toll free). The passcode is 21267641, followed by the pound key.
TD Bank will release its full second quarter financial results and
webcast its quarterly earnings conference call live on the internet
on May 28, 2008. Conference call and webcast details will be
announced closer to that date. Update on completion of the
acquisition of Commerce Bancorp (All dollar amounts are expressed
in Canadian currency unless otherwise noted) "We feel very positive
about the future of TD Commerce Bank and our U.S. growth strategy,"
said Ed Clark, President and CEO of TDBFG. "While we still believe
2008 will be a challenging year overall, we are pleased with the
slightly stronger earnings we now expect from our U.S. banking
operations in 2008. It's clear we've got an incredibly powerful
U.S. retail franchise that will drive shareholder value over the
long run." - Restructuring and Integration Charges & Synergies
TD reconfirmed that it expects cost synergies of US$310 million
pre-tax to be realised by the end of fiscal 2009. Ongoing
restructuring and integration charges of US$420 million pre-tax
will impact TD's income statement and be identified as items of
note in the bank's future financial results. These restructuring
costs will be taken over the next two to three years. The earnings
estimates that follow exclude these charges. - Estimated earnings
for TD's U.S. Personal and Commercial Banking segment: - For the
second quarter of 2008, TD estimates net income for this segment
will be $130 million, which does not include contributions from
Commerce. - For fiscal 2008, TD is targeting net income for this
segment of a minimum $750 million, revised up from TD's previous
estimate of $700 million. Consistent with this new target, TD's
third quarter net income run rate for this segment will be
approximately $250 million. This includes contributions from
Commerce Bancorp, reported with a one-month lag. - For fiscal 2009,
TD's target net income for this segment will be $1.2 billion,
unchanged from TD's previous estimate. In addition to the above
estimates, TD has provided estimated revenues, expenses, and other
information for the U.S. Personal and Commercial Banking segment
for the second and third quarters of 2008 in the call's investor
presentation, which will be available today by 9 a.m. on
http://www.td.com/investor. This presentation also includes: -
Details on the balance of Commerce Bank's investment portfolio as
at April 15, 2008; - An update on Commerce Bank's deposit and loan
growth; - A profile of TD's U.S. Personal and Commercial Banking
segment loan portfolio as of March 31, 2008; - An update on TD
Commerce Bank's asset quality as of March 31, 2008 - An integration
timeline; - Several other metrics regarding the financial impact of
the transaction. TD Commerce Bank Investor Day An investor day will
be held in New Jersey on June 19, 2008, during which the TD
Commerce Bank leadership team will share their plans to develop
TD's U.S. retail platform over the next 18 to 24 months. "This will
be an opportunity to introduce the great leadership and vision we
have for TD Commerce Bank," said Clark. "Investors will be able to
ask questions and meet directly with the key members of the TD
Commerce Bank executive team - the people who are responsible for
executing the organic growth plans for their businesses and for
continuing to WOW! the customers of America's Most Convenient
Bank." Conference details will be made public in a press release by
mid May. Caution regarding forward-looking statements From time to
time, the Bank makes written and oral forward-looking statements,
including in this press release. All such statements are made
pursuant to the "safe harbour" provisions of the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian
securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, among
others, statements regarding the Bank's objectives and targets for
2008 and beyond, and strategies to achieve them, the outlook for
the Bank's business lines, specifically the Bank's U.S. segment,
and the Bank's and the segment's anticipated financial performance.
The forward-looking information contained in this press release is
presented for the purpose of assisting our shareholders and
analysts in understanding our U.S. Personal and Commercial banking
segment's financial position as at and for the periods ended on the
dates presented and our strategic priorities and objectives, and
may not be appropriate for other purposes. The economic assumptions
for 2008 for our U.S. Personal and Commercial banking segment are
set out on page 38 of the 2007 Annual Report under the headings
"Economic Outlook" and "Business Outlook and Focus for 2008", as
updated in the subsequently filed quarterly Reports to
Shareholders. Forward-looking statements are typically identified
by words such as "will", "should", "believe", "expect",
"anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "may" and "could". By
their very nature, these statements require us to make assumptions
and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, general and
specific, which may cause actual results to differ materially from
the expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements. Some
of the factors - many of which are beyond our control - that could
cause such differences include: credit, market (including equity
and commodity), liquidity, interest rate, operational,
reputational, insurance, strategic, foreign exchange, regulatory,
legal and other risks discussed in the Bank's 2007 Annual Report
and in other regulatory filings made in Canada and with the SEC;
general business and economic conditions in Canada, the U.S. and
other countries in which the Bank conducts business, as well as the
effect of changes in monetary policy in those jurisdictions and
changes in the foreign exchange rates for the currencies of those
jurisdictions; the weakening economy in the U.S., the Bank's
ability to execute its strategies, including its integration,
growth and acquisition strategies and those of its subsidiaries,
particularly in the U.S.; the Bank's ability to integrate Commerce
Bancorp, Inc.'s businesses in a timely and cost-efficient manner;
the Bank's ability to realize the expected synergies resulting for
the Commerce Bancorp transaction in the amounts or in the timeframe
anticipated; legislative and regulatory developments; unexpected
judicial or regulatory proceedings; and continued negative impact
of the U.S. securities litigation environment. The preceding list
is not exhaustive of all possible factors. Other factors could also
adversely affect the Bank's results. For more information, see the
discussion starting on page 59 of the Bank's 2007 Annual Report.
All such factors should be considered carefully when making
decisions with respect to the Bank, and undue reliance should not
be placed on the Bank's forward-looking statements as they may not
be suitable for other purposes. The Bank does not undertake to
update any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral,
that may be made from time to time by or on its behalf, except as
required under applicable securities legislation. About TD Bank
Financial Group The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are
collectively known as TD Bank Financial Group. TD Bank Financial
Group is the seventh largest bank in North America by branches and
serves approximately 17 million customers in four key businesses
operating in a number of locations in financial centres around the
globe: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, including TD
Canada Trust; Wealth Management, including TD Waterhouse and an
investment in TD Ameritrade; U.S. Personal and Commercial Banking
through TD Banknorth and Commerce Bank; and Wholesale Banking,
including TD Securities. TD Bank Financial Group also ranks among
the world's leading on-line financial services firms, with more
than 5.5 million on-line customers. TD Bank Financial Group had
CDN$435 billion in assets as of January 31, 2008. The
Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the Toronto and New York Stock
Exchanges under the symbol "TD", as well as on the Tokyo Stock
Exchange. DATASOURCE: TD Bank Financial Group CONTACT: Simon
Townsend, Corporate Communications, TD Bank Financial Group, (416)
944-7161; Tim Thompson, Investor Relations, TD Bank Financial
Group, (416) 308-9030
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