“As part of our strategic review, we have been evaluating capital allocation and have made the decision to exit our Schwab investment,” Chun said. “We are very pleased with the strong return we are generating on the Schwab shares we acquired in 2020.”
TD plans to use CA$8 billion of the proceeds for a stock repurchase program, while reinvesting the rest to fuel organic growth and enhance client services.
Schwab’s Stance: Buybacks on the Horizon
Despite TD’s exit, Schwab remains focused on opportunistic stock repurchases, reiterating in a Monday statement that it plans to buy back shares in 2025, provided it aligns with financial goals. The brokerage firm also confirmed that it will not receive any proceeds from TD’s sale.
TD’s Lingering Regulatory Woes
TD’s strategic pivot comes against a backdrop of regulatory turbulence. In October, the bank agreed to pay $3.1 billion in fines to U.S. authorities over anti-money laundering failures, which reportedly enabled hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit transactions, including those tied to drug trafficking.
