Toronto-Dominion Bank profit lower
Toronto-Dominion Bank reported a decline in quarterly profit yesterday but easily beat expectations. The bank earned $834 million, or 92 cents per share, for the quarter ended July 31.
Chief executive Ed Clark credited actions by central banks and the resilience of the Canadian housing market for what he called an improving economy. There has been no crippling mortgage meltdown or banking crisis north of the border.
The US unit of the company, TD Bank, generated a $172 million profit. Excluding restructuring and integration charges, the group earned $242 million, down 11 percent from the same period a year earlier, due to higher loan losses, the company said.
“These are good results in the current economic context driven by solid fundamentals, with growth in both lending and deposits,’’ Clark said. “While credit losses are certainly higher than last year, we continue to see good relative credit performance.’’
TD Bank, based in Portland, Maine, is the fourth-largest retail bank in Massachusetts.
The US bank in May said it had received nearly a $1 billion infusion from its Canadian parent as a cushion against bad loans.
Toronto-Dominion Bank broke into the United States in 2004 when it bought control of New England’s Banknorth.
Clark said the company continues to expect weak US economic fundamentals and growing credit losses but not at the same pace of this year.
