BUZZ-Canada's TD Bank hits 4-month high on plan to exit Charles Schwab

Shares of Canadian lender TD Bank TD.TO jump as much as 3.8% hitting their highest since October 3; last up 3.3% at C$85.58

TD says it is looking to offload its 10.1% stake in U.S. brokerage firm Charles Schwab SCHW.N

Share sale is part of TD's strategic review following a landmark U.S. fine

TD holds 184.7 million shares of SCHW, worth roughly $15.4 billion based on the last close

Bank plans to use C$8 billion ($5.58 billion) of proceeds for share buybacks and rest for investment in its business

Cormark Securities analyst Lemar Persaud says deployment of proceeds into growth initiatives will be key

Jefferies analyst John Aiken says the stake sale will simplify TD's U.S. operations

"Whether this sets TD up for a different strategy in U.S. wealth management will be seen when its strategic review is complete and revealed," Aiken says

TD stock fell 10.6% in 2024