TD Bank Financial Group said Tuesday that it has sold its TD Waterhouse discount brokerage operations in Australia to Commonwealth Bank Australia Group. Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed.

“After a thorough review of our Australian discount brokerage business, we have concluded that this is the right decision for TD Bank Financial Group,” said David Livingston, executive vice president, TD Bank Financial Group. “Although we have achieved many successes in Australia, it became clear to us that without a suitable acquisition or joint venture partner it would be difficult to continue growing.”

“Thanks to the hard work of our employees, TD Waterhouse grew from humble beginnings to become one of the leading players in the Australian market,” said Karen Buck, managing director of TD Waterhouse Australia. “While we were meeting financial targets, the need for scale is critical in a relatively small market such as Australia and we saw limited opportunity to grow the business organically. This move makes sense for both TD Waterhouse and Commonwealth Bank.”

The announcement does not impact TD Bank Financial Group’s wholesale banking operations in Australia through TD Securities. TD Securities maintains offices in Sydney and Melbourne to serve institutional and wholesale clients and TD Bank Financial Group continues to be committed to growing this business in Australia.

The sale of TD Waterhouse Australia is subject to regulatory approval but is expected to close on 1 May 2003.

http://www.newswire.ca/releases/April2003/15/c0946.html