Thanks to the sale of its U.S. retail brokerage business, TD Bank Financial Group reported a whopping increase in earnings over the corresponding period last year. Profits rose 265% to $2.3 billion, the bank reported today.

Revenue rose 21% to $3.4 billion, up from last year’s $2.8 billion. The increase includes an after-tax gain of $1.67 billion from its sale of TD Waterhouse Group Inc.’s U.S. retail brokerage to Ameritrade Holding Corp.

The bank says it plans to increase the dividend for the quarter ended April 30 to 44¢ from 42¢.

“I am very pleased with our earnings performance this quarter,” Edmund Clark, TD Bank
Financial Group’s president and CEO, said in a release. “We have significantly enhanced our position in the United States and have a strong complement to our domestic businesses. We executed well against our strategies and this translated into strong growth in earnings and economic profit.”