Bay Street Divided Over Merger Of Toronto, London Stock Exchanges

Several institutions pull out of negotiations to oppose the $7-billion deal.

Major financial institutions released a letter Wednesday opposing the merger of TMX and LSE, the companies that run the Toronto and London stock exchanges, but there were several glaring omissions on the list of signatories. While it had been reported that Scotiabank would sign the letter, which is part of an effort spearheaded by TD, in the end the bank backed out because executives felt the wording was too strong. CIBC and the National Bank of Canada joined TD in endorsing the letter, which raises concerns that TMX would lose influence over Canada’s largest stock exchange and be overwhelmed by the bigger British company. It’s unusual for Bay Street firms to so publicly show internal divisions over public policy.