TD Bank Renews Interest in Acquiring Citizens Bank

Canadian TD Bank is eyeing the acquisition of Providence-based Citizens, both of which service the Philly area and together, says Joe DiStefano, would rival Wells Fargo & Co… as the region’s dominant branch bank and lender.” In other words, a TD/Citizens merger could add another major player into our zeitgesity dystopian financial oligarchy.

TD eyed Citizens last year as there was speculation that Citizens’s parent company, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), was floating it in an attempt to separate its subsidiary banks into “good” and “bad” banks. Citizens falls into the bad bank category, and a sale of Citizens is believed to be in RBS’s plans, according to the UK’s Sunday Times.

DiStefano speculates that a marger would result in massive layoffs at both branches. “Merged competitors typically pick the more successful branch in each suburb or neighborhood, and shut the other. An out-of-market owner, by contrast, would be more likely to keep local offices running.” [Philly.com]