The future of the Commerce Bank branch on Westport’s Main Street is uncertain following today’s announcement that Toronto-Dominion Bank, which owns TD Banknorth with three branches in Westport, will take over New Jersey-based Commerce Bancorp. Inc. for $8.5 billion in cash and stock.
Employees sought to attract new customers when Commerce Bank opened its Westport branch on Main Street in June 2006. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Larry Untermeyer for WestportNow.com
The deal would nearly double TD Bank Financial Group’s U.S. presence, adding Commerce’s roughly 460 branches on the East Coast.
Commerce decided to sell after ousting founder Vernon Hill, the former chief executive officer, whose dealings with companies controlled by family members prompted a U.S. investigation.
TD Banknorth said in March that it will close one of its four branches in Westport, once part of the old Westport Bank & Trust Co., as part of a restructuring plan that closed 24 branches and cut 400 positions. (See WestportNow March 24, 2007)
