Concern Over TD Anti-Money-Laundering Practices Helped Scuttle First Horizon Deal

Toronto-Dominion Bank’s handling of suspicious customer transactions was behind regulators’ refusal to bless the Canadian lender’s $13.4 billion bid to buy First Horizon, people familiar with the matter said. 

The banks called off the proposed union Thursday, citing uncertainty over whether and when they could receive regulatory approvals, without being more specific. The reluctance by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve to give TD a clean bill of health on its anti-money-laundering practices proved to be the biggest obstacle, the people said.