The origins of TD Bank Group trace back to two separate Canadian banking institutions founded in the 19th century: the Bank of Toronto, established in 1855, and The Dominion Bank, chartered in 1869. The Bank of Toronto was founded by a consortium of millers and merchants in Toronto, rooted in Canada's emerging grain industry, providing essential financial services including insurance and commodities exchange. As the bank's business grew, it built a provincial branch network that expanded to Montreal in 1860. The Dominion Bank was formed shortly after Canadian Confederation, with Canadian Parliament issuing a charter in 1869. The backing funds were raised by a group of industrialists and financiers who prospered from a flourishing agricultural economy, expanding commerce, and the growth of industry in urban centers. Opening its first branch in 1871, Dominion Bank kept pace with the Bank of Toronto, extending services across central Canada. In the 1880s, Canada's western regions began developing rapidly, prompting Dominion Bank to establish a location in Winnipeg in 1897, while the Bank of Toronto's first western location opened in Rossland, British Columbia, in 1899. Both banks enjoyed explosive growth during the early decades of the twentieth century. The Bank of Toronto's branch count rose from 16 in 1900 to 161 by 1920. The Dominion Bank expanded internationally, establishing operations in London, England, in 1911 and opening a New York City location in 1919. Both institutions withstood the Great Depression and benefited from the booming Canadian economy in the post-World War II years. The prosperity of the late 1940s and early 1950s led the two banks to negotiate an amalgamation. On February 1, 1955, the Toronto-Dominion Bank was born with 499 branches and 5,500 employees. The new bank's philosophy emphasized customer service and product knowledge, with the slogan 'The Best in Banking Service' evolving into 'The Bank Where People Make the Difference.' In 1969, the TD Shield was launched as the official corporate identity. The 1967 opening of the Toronto-Dominion Centre in downtown Toronto marked TD's emergence as a major corporate player. Through the 1970s and 1980s, TD expanded internationally into commercial real estate financing, investment banking, brokerage services, and securities trading. The 1990s brought transformative acquisitions: Central Guaranty Trust in 1992, Waterhouse Investor Services in 1996, and the landmark Canada Trust acquisition in 2000 for CAD $8 billion. Canada Trust was a nationwide trust company known for its extended hours and customer-friendly service, and its integration created the modern TD Canada Trust retail banking franchise. The US expansion began in earnest with the 2007 acquisition of Commerce Bancorp for $8.5 billion, which gave TD a significant presence in the Northeast US. This was followed by the 2010 acquisition of South Financial Group and the 2011 acquisition of Chrysler Financial, which established TD Auto Finance as a major US auto lender. In 2020, TD made its boldest strategic move: contributing its US brokerage business to Charles Schwab in exchange for a 13.4% stake in the combined entity, valued at approximately $13 billion. The deal was hailed as a masterstroke, giving TD exposure to the US discount brokerage boom while avoiding the capital intensity of running a brokerage. In 2022, TD announced the $13.4 billion acquisition of First Horizon Corporation, which would have made TD a top-6 US bank with 1,560 branches across 22 states. But the deal collapsed on May 4, 2023, when TD and First Horizon mutually terminated the agreement after regulators refused to approve it due to TD's AML deficiencies. TD paid $225 million in termination fees. In March 2023, TD completed the $1.3 billion acquisition of Cowen Inc., establishing TD Cowen as a US investment banking division. The AML crisis erupted in October 2024, when TD pleaded guilty to criminal BSA violations and conspiracy to commit money laundering, agreeing to pay over $3 billion in fines and accepting the $434 billion asset cap. CEO Bharat Masrani, who had led TD since 2014, accelerated his retirement, and Raymond Chun became CEO on February 1, 2025. Chun's first major act was the sale of TD's entire Schwab stake for approximately $14.6 billion, ending the strategic relationship and freeing capital for buybacks and organic investment.