[new_royalslider id=”58″] TD marked the opening of a credit card office in northern Delaware on Monday.
The offices, located in the Hercules Plaza at 1313 North Market St., can house 100 employees in about 19,000 square feet of space.
Michael Rhodes executive vice president, North American Cards and Merchant Services, said TD, which is hiring for positions at the site, which currently employs 30.
Rhodes said TD chose the Delaware location because of the area’s deep and experienced talent pool. He went on to praise the state’s business and political environment.
“Our Wilmington facility will allow us to be even more integrated from a capabilities, distribution and platform perspective,” said Rhodes. “Our goal is to be a world class North American credit cards and merchant services business and growing our presence in the U.S. with the right team and capabilities is an integral part of our strategy.”
Primary job functions in Delaware will include risk management, compliance, legal and some technology resources.
Rhoades was hired in 2011 by TD after a long career as an executive at MBNA and its successor, Bank of America.
Political leaders who attended the event at Hercules Plaza strongly suggested more hiring by TD in Delaware.
Gov. Jack Markell says his administration “wakes up every morning” looking for opportunities in the financial services industry.
The governor said financial services companies looking for a functional political environment should strongly consider Delaware. While the industry has seen some downsizing due to acquisitions like M&T’s purchase of troubled Wilmington Trust, total employment in the key sector of the economy has been on the upswing.
Both Cong. John Carney and U.S. Sen. Chris Coons made similar pitches for expansion in the state.
The move by TD to lease space in the building sparked many rumors of a major credit card presence in the state. TD has become a bigger player in credit cards with the purchase of the portfolio of discount giant Target. TD officials said the company no plans to move jobs from the Midwest base of that card operation.
TD also acquired the MBNA Canada operation from Bank of America. in 2011. The company kept the MBNA name.
TD has one of its operating headquarters on a campus in Cherry Hill, N.J. The site came with the acquisition of Commerce Bank several years ago.
TD has maintained many of the unique features of Commerce including branches operating seven days a week, and free change counting machines. TD has a dozen offices in the state.
TD is the sixth largest bank in North America by branches and serves approximately 22 million customers.
Based in Toronto, the bank’s U.S. branch system extends from Maine to Florida
