 |
||
|
|
||
| |||||||||||
TD scores new businesses TD Securities is the investment banking arm of the Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD), one of Canada's largest banks. The firm is industry-focused, with strong niche practices in media/communications (in which the firm is especially strong), health care, forest products, and energy. TD has grown its I-banking capabilities in recent years, successfully moving into new geographic markets. The firm opened its New York office in 1996. In April 1998, the bank received a license from Japan's Ministry of Finance to operate a securities business in the country. The firm also has a product group dedicated to M&A work. The firm has also started new business groups. For example, in 1995, the firm created a new high yield debt business. In 1997, the firm began making markets in U.S., Canadian, and Nasdaq stocks out of its New York office, and changed its name from Toronto-Dominion Securities to TD Securities. In May 1999, the firm announced further expansion efforts, focused on the Australian bond underwriting market. The firm has also established a merchant bank, TD Capital Group, which today has a portfolio of more than $800 million. CIBC merger denied Formed by the 1955 merger of two large Canadian banks, TD has been expanding in the U.S. since the U.S. division was established in 1980. In 1998, Toronto-Dominion agreed to merge with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). That deal would have created a bank with more than $320 billion in assets and 2,300 branches across Canada. However, in mid-December 1998, the Canadian government blocked the proposed merger. (At the same time, it nixed a planned merger between the Royal Bank of Canada and the Bank of Montreal.) TD's corporate I-banking services are bolstered by strong retail support. The bank's discount brokerage business, Greenline Investor Services, moved into the top brokerage ranks in the U.S. with its 1996 acquisition of New York-based Waterhouse Investor Services. The purchase of Australian-based Pont Securities in 1997 helped establish the bank as a leading global discount broker. But it is in cyberspace that TD's brokering is making the most waves. Its discount brokerage arm, TD Waterhouse, is battling E*Trade and Ameritrade for Web trading market leadership. TD Waterhouse went public in June 1999 with a high profile IPO that saw the company's share price increase more than 15 percent in the first day.
TD Securities has opportunities in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver, New York and London. The firm allows candidates to register online at www.tdbank.ca, and check out I-banking analyst and associate, and sales and trading job descriptions. The hiring process is reportedly relaxed. Reports one insider: "The most technical questions I got were from the head of HR." The firm also offers summer internships for both analysts and associates. Reports an insider about the summer program: "It's not an MBA-heavy program. In terms of the summer program, they didn't really make a distinction in terms of what we did, for training and social things." What are the social things that the firm provides for summer interns" "We went out one night and played laser tag [in Times Square]. One night, they had a dinner with pretty much every managing director in the New York office, and they forced us to do the skits and do the entertainment for them."
Respectful, kind Insiders at TD Securities remark that their employer is a bit different than your average American Wall Street firm. Says one associate at the firm's New York office: "The corporate culture here is very positive - friendly, probably a bit more laid-back internally than other firms, team-oriented and fun." For example, the dress code in the summer at the firm's offices in New York is business casual. For the rest of the year, employees at TD Securities can get loose(r) on Fridays, enjoying casual days. A former analyst praises his experience with supervisors. "Opinions are respected," he says. "Comments and questions are encouraged." "It's a great place to work," reports one associate. "A lot of people came from other big banks because of the lifestyle and opportunities." Why might the opportunities at TD be better than at the big-name firms? "The associates who are there joined because they thought there was a lot of opportunity without five or 10 people in front of you," explains one insider. "That was a lot of the reason they joined - that the upside would be a lot greater than somewhere else." Another contact agrees, saying that TD Securities is "relatively young in the I-banking industry, but building it and its reputation rapidly." Because it is a "growing firm," one insider suggests there is "lots of opportunity to take responsibility and learn." Good marks for diversity Insiders also praise the opportunities and treatment for women and ethnic minorities at TD Securities. Says one insider: "Everyone attends a diversity awareness program that the firm designed based upon extensive research and feedback from employees. In my opinion, the awareness program, combined with the corporate culture, makes it a great place for minorities and women." Another insider agrees: "Women are in senior positions and command respect." To illustrate this point, one summer associate explains that twice a week, the heads of groups make presentations to interns: "As many women as men came in." However, like all I-bankers, those at TD Securities can look forward to killer hours. Reports one former analyst: "I often worked in excess of 80 hours a week. It's really like having two jobs." Thankfully, those hard-working bankers receive dinner if they "work past 8 p.m.," free car rides home, and can "keep airmiles from travel." However, some insiders maintain that "there's less punching the clock than other firms, where you're expected to stay late and go out every night. It isn't really that type of atmosphere. The quality of life there is very high."
Recruiting Manager Human Resources 31 W. 52nd Street1 New York NY 10019
Forest Products; Health Care; Portfolio Management; Communications Finance; Energy Finance; Syndications; TD Capital (Merchant Banking)
Chase Manhattan; CIBC World Markets; Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette; Goldman Sachs; J.P. Morgan; Morgan Stanley Dean Witter; Lehman Brothers More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
