TD Bank has named a new head of U.S. small-business banking, doubling down on that part of its American operations as it backs away from others.
On Wednesday, the Toronto-based bank announced the creation of the new role and also revealed who will fill it. The inaugural head of the department is Chris Ward, who since June 2024 had been TD’s regional president for the mid-South region, stretching from Delaware to South Carolina.
“Small businesses are growing,” Ward told American Banker. “So if we don’t pay attention to small business as a bank, as a financial institution, shame on us.”
Analysts see the hire as a sign that TD, Canada’s second-largest bank, is devoting more resources to small-business lending south of the border, even as an asset cap imposed by U.S. regulators sets a ceiling on the bank’s operations here.
“[Ward] has wet his feet in the bank. It’s inaugural. You’ve now hired him for that role,” said Carl De Souza, the Canadian banking sector lead at Morningstar DBRS. “Obviously, they’re probably looking to grow this business.”
In October 2024, after TD pleaded guilty to inadequately guarding against money laundering, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency hit the bank with a $3 billion fine and a
In response, TD said it would
“I think this is part of a bigger effort on the U.S. side,” De Souza said. “Selling off some of those jumbo mortgages and things like that … gives them a little bit of breathing room under the asset cap.”
TD Bank
Why use that breathing room for small-business lending? For one thing, de Souza said, TD already has a “notable and growing” small-business loan book in the U.S. In addition, it’s an arena where TD is particularly well positioned to compete.
“It’s an area that they can penetrate,” De Souza said. “They’re a large regional, but they’re not a BofA. So I think this is one of the businesses … that they probably looked at, and they see an opportunity to not only grow, but grow it profitably.”
As regional head of the mid-South, Ward oversaw a wide range of TD’s businesses, including retail, small-business, commercial and middle market banking.
But he also has a lengthy track record of focusing on small businesses in particular. Before TD, Ward worked for seven years as Bank of America’s small-business credit executive, following stints as the Rhode Island-based Citizens Bank’s president of business banking and director of small and medium enterprise at the Spanish bank BBVA.
“I’ve been in small business in one shape, form or another in my career since 1990,” Ward said. “So I’m excited to get back into small business and help TD Bank and help our customers.”
Read more about small-business banking:
On Wednesday, the bank hailed the new hire as an important step toward better serving entrepreneurs.
“Chris brings a strong track record of leadership, deep industry knowledge and a passion for serving small business customers,” Andy Bregenzer, TD’s head of small-business and regional banking, said in a prepared
As he takes the reins of his new department, Ward said he looks forward to both maximizing what TD does well for small businesses and improving in areas where it could do better. He said the bank already excels in Small Business Administration loans, but it could streamline the application process on its website and app.
“We want to continue to try to digitalize the process and make it easier for the customer and for our colleagues to expedite the lending process,” Ward said. “SBA lending is rigorous, it does take some time. So how can we make that simpler?”
Ward also confirmed De Souza’s suspicion that U.S. small-business banking is an area where TD intends to expand.
“It’s absolutely a growth opportunity, and that’s a good thing,” Ward said. “We do very well in small business, but we could do better in my estimation.”
