Canada's TD Bank faces $3 billion fine, curbs on US business: WSJ report

FILE PHOTO: TD bank ATM machines are seen in New York City, U.S., March 17, 2020. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo

Canada's second-largest lender, Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD Bank), is staring at a $3 billion fine and restrictions on its US business, as part of a settlement with regulators over failure to curb money laundering, a Wall Street Journal report said on October 10.

The WSJ report quoted people familiar with the development who said that as part of the settlement, an asset cap will be imposed on TD Bank's retail business.

The report goes to add that TD Bank is likely to plead guilty to criminal charges, in an effort to resolve a US DoJ investigation.

Canada's TD Bank has more than 10 million customers in US, with almost 1,200 branches mostly along the East Coast. The US retail operations account for about a quarter of TD Bank's revenue.

Wells Fargo has been operating under a similar regulatory curb on the size of its balance sheet for several years, after the bank was found to have been running fake accounts for clients.

The bank had recently closed two separate settlements with US prosecutors and regulators, both over $20 million each, over separate investigations.

Last year, the bank was compelled to scrap a $13.4 billion deal to acquire First Horizon - a US regional bank - as regulatory approvals could not come through on time.