TD appoints Canadian executive as U.S. CFO

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Toronto-Dominion Bank is sending Manjit Singh to New Jersey, where he'll take over as chief financial officer of the bank's U.S. operations – an essential market for TD given that it has more branches there than in Canada.

Mr. Singh, who is currently CFO of TD's Canadian retail arm, starts the new position on June 1.

"We are excited about the important role Manjit will play in developing growth strategies, driving performance and executing on key business priorities at TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank," TD said in a statement.

Mr. Singh takes over from Steve Boyle, who is moving over to online broker TD Ameritrade.

There are big hopes for TD's U.S. operations, which are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year. Mike Pedersen, group head of U.S. banking, noted during the bank's last earnings conference call with analysts that TD is adding household accounts at an industry-beating clip of 3.5 per cent.

On top of that is what bankers call the share-of-wallet opportunity – essentially selling additional services and accounts to existing customers – on which TD is making "tremendous progress," according to Mr. Pedersen.

The economic backdrop adds to the importance of the U.S. operations. U.S. economic growth is leading most of the world and the unemployment rate is falling, pushing the Federal Reserve toward a potential rate hike later this year. Contrast that with Canada, where economic activity contracted in January and the Bank of Canada governor recently warned that first quarter growth would look "atrocious."

And finally, TD's U.S. operations have another point in their favour: Mr. Pedersen is a highly valued executive who is considered a leading candidate to become the next chief executive of Toronto-Dominion Bank – making a shift to the United States look like a good career move for Mr. Singh.