TD Bank reaffirms 2008 U.S. banking profit forecast

TORONTO, May 13 (Reuters) - Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) reiterated its full-year U.S. earnings forecast on Tuesday despite economic uncertainty, as the Canadian bank pushes south of the border with its recent purchase of Commerce Bancorp.

Speaking at a financial services conference in New York, Chief Executive Ed Clark reaffirmed the bank's target net income from its U.S. personal and commercial banking segment of C$750 million in 2008. TD had lifted this estimate from C$700 million in April.

Clark also repeated the bank's fiscal 2009 net income target of C$1.2 billion for the U.S. segment, saying this was a "minimum number."

In terms of the integration of New Jersey-based Commerce, which TD acquired at the end of March, Clark said TD would look to expand its Canadian focus on convenience and customer service to the United States.

He acknowledged the potential impact of a sluggish U.S. economy, saying, "If the U.S. continues on a down trend, it's hard to believe that you can be in the banking business in the United States and not (be) affected."

While TD intends to increase its loan loss provisions in anticipation of further economic deterioration in the United States, Clark said he was confident the bank would be able to absorb these increases and still meet its earnings targets.

Unlike its large Canadian peers, TD has not reported writedowns on investments tied to the U.S. mortgage crisis. ($1=$1.00 Canadian) (Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Bernadette Baum)