Charles Lannon Toronto Dominion TD-T PAST TOP PICK Jun 24, 2015

Q1 was a much-needed low-drama quarter. Schwab sale. Market appreciated the quicker CEO transition. Wealth management good, strong capital markets. Still trading at a premium to the group, and that's not warranted because of growth limits in US.

All banks are at risk if economy darkens. But if economic environment is OK, he thinks BMO has the best upside.

The steep fines they paid for money laundering are all in the rear-view mirror. TD is more exposed in the US vs. its peers. Is trading at a high valuation in this space. The worst is behind them. Pays nearly a 5% dividend. Other banks are his favourite, but you can own this.

Coming out of a really vulnerable time with money laundering. Settled case, implemented new protocols. US assets capped; but TD shifted some assets around, giving them space to grow without running afoul of the cap. New CEO is very committed to turning over a new leaf.

It was losing last year but is winning this year and in fact is the only Canadian bank up this year. He is hesitant about doubling a position at this point since it should go sideways.

Was a screaming buy back at $78. Likes its Canadian banking business. Sold Schwab, redeployed proceeds back into Canada. Now at $90, she'd be hesitant to go into any bank right now before earnings. Suspects all banks will need to increase credit provisions. Wait to see plan for growing in Canada.

Over the very long term, it and RY are the 2 premier Canadian banks, so she'd be OK paying a premium to own.

Won't be an immediate fix, but remember that the market is a forward-looking, discounting mechanism. Q2 earnings results were much better than expected. Biggest segment is Canadian personal and commercial banking, and that missed expectations. Sizeable outperformance in US retail, strong outperformance in wealth management, did very well in capital markets.

Most over-capitalized bank in Canada. Will be buying back a lot of stock. Working hard to remediate money-laundering deficiencies in US. All its plans should help to rebuild investor confidence and restore its premium multiple.

The company is recovering from its US indiscretions, and recent earnings were good. Credit quality remains good, and recent cost-cutting efforts may help offset any potential economic weakness. The stock remains cheap with a good, secure dividend.
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It's the best Canadian bank performing so far this year, but the worst in 2024. Their US problems are not yet behind them (they have to work through the asset cap, part of the penalty for money laundering). They have limited growth in the US, but also won't need capital to grow. So they could buy back shares. TD trades at a discount, so he likes this for the long term.

Stock's rallied simply because of the big selloff when $3B fine was announced. Still in penalty box in US -- can't grow their business there, so where are they going to? Only thing left to buy in Canada is LB, and no one seems to want it because it's mainly commercial mortgages. Wants a bigger footprint in digital, so it's laying off staff.

Don't buy here. US growth overhang could last a number of years. Not a lot of upside.

Although it is a great operation, wait for a pullback. There is a potential slowdown and job losses. Also we're getting to the season where banks typically don't do well and many mortgages will be maturing.