[CHA CHING] TD Bank entering Atlanta Market

At a time when several banks are reducing their branch network, one financial institution has a different idea.  TD Bank, headquartered in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, is planning to enter the Atlanta market, according to a new LinkedIn post from its area real estate broker.  The post did not indicate how many branches the bank wants to open but did shed some light on the kinds of locations they seek. 

The bank is targeting sites that are +/- 2,500 square feet and are either endcap or freestanding with strong visibility.  TD Bank proclaims on its website that it is "America's Most Convenient Bank," and to ensure customers feel that way too, most branches are open seven days a week.  Currently TD Bank has about 1,100 locations across the country.  

TD Bank is likely to secure a small presence in Atlanta no later than early 2023 when its previously announced $13.4 billion acquisition of Memphis-based First Horizon is completed.  The deal, first announced in late February, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023, pending approval by U.S. and Canadian regulators, given the parent company Toronto-Dominion Bank is headquartered in Canada.  The post-merger bank will have approximately $610 billion in assets, potentially boosting its ranking in the United States to sixth largest by deposits.  

First Horizon currently operates nine branches in the greater metro Atlanta area including those in Brookhaven, Buckhead, Marietta and Roswell, among others.  In 2007, the company sold 34 branches outside of Tennessee including eleven in Georgia, nine of which were acquired by Fifth Third Bank.  

TD is the latest Canadian bank to attempt to penetrate the Atlanta market.  RBC Bank (then RBC Centura) entered the Atlanta market in 1998 with the purchase of Security First Network Bank which had only one office. RBC further bolstered their local presence with the purchase of Tucker Federal Bank parent company Eagle Bancshares in 2002, giving it 14 additional branches in metro Atlanta.  Ultimately, PNC Bank purchased RBC Bank, the U.S. retail banking subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada, in 2011 for $3.45 billion.  The deal was completed in 2012.  

Despite dozens of recent closures, existing banks either expanding or relocating have absorbed many prime available sites.  Ameris took on some Truist castoffs while Birmingham's Regions has been among the most aggressive in its metro Atlanta expansion with new builds.  In other cases, such as with our recent report on MINT dentistry, several former bank sites, including those of Wells Fargo and PNC, are becoming dental practices.   

In metro Atlanta, three banks control more than 50% of the market.  Truist in 2021 was the market leader, with just over 25% market share and nearly $60 billion in deposits.  Bank of America, which took the top spot in 2020, dropped to second, with about 20% share and about $48 billion in deposits, with Wells Fargo coming in third, with about 18% market share and about $42 billion in deposits.

Have you changed banks recently?  Do you think TD Bank will find success in Atlanta?  When was the last time you were inside a bank?

Please share your thoughts below.