(January 31 – 10:40 ET) – TD Bank has received the Finance Minister’s approval for its proposed acquisition of CT Financial Services Inc.

The deal has now received all the necessary approvals. It will proceed tomorrow. “TD is pleased with the Minister’s decision,” says Charlie Baillie, chairman and chief executive of TD Bank. “Today’s announcement clears the way for TD and Canada Trust people to work together and move forward on building our combined organization into Canada’s premier financial institution for customers, employees and shareholders.”

TD will proceed with its plan to create a new retail banking division, TD Canada Trust. The new division is to be headed by Ed Clark, CT’s president and CEO, who becomes chairman and CEO of TD Canada Trust. “TD Canada Trust will adopt the Canada Trust service model, which includes, among other things, hours of branch service that well exceed the industry average,” says Clark.

As the two institutions integrate there will be a price freeze on all retail banking service fees at both firms until January 2001. Immediately, for all TD and CT customers withdrawal transaction fees will be eliminated at each others ABMs. Over time, TD branches will be adopting the extended hours that CT has been offering to customers.

The branch integration will not begin for one year and there will be no CT branch closings this year, although the already-planned closing of TD branches will proceed. To resolve Competition Bureau concerns TD will not be allowed to convert CT’s MasterCard customers to TD’s Visa service because it would hurt MasterCard’s share of the credit card market in Canada. Instead it will sell CT’s MasterCard business

There will be virtually no integration-related staffing reductions at either TD or CT branches before 2001. In the first year, most of the employment impact will occur in head office. Earlier TD had estimated as many as 4,900 jobs could be affected in the three year integration. Both companies have guaranteed 18 months of compensation for employees who are cleaned out in the deal.
-IE Staff