TD Bank to hire 200 tech workers in Florida as part of plan to add 2,000

TD Bank to hire 200 tech workers in Florida as part of plan to add 2,000 (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — TD Bank Group plans to open a new tech hub in Fort Lauderdale where it will hire 200 people as part of its plan to add 2,000 technology workers this year.

The new roles in Fort Lauderdale follow TD’s plans to add about 250 new positions in operations and retail locations to the Jacksonville area in 2021.

The move comes at a time when competition for tech talent is fierce among banks, who are competing not just with each other but also other financial services, fintech and technology companies.

Toronto-based TD (NYSE: TD), which operates U.S subsidiary TD Bank out of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, said it will add the new roles in South Florida over the next two years to support its accelerated technology strategy. Those starting in 2021 will be part of a plan announced in January to add over 2,000 technology roles — a massive increase over the 300 it hired in 2021 — with skills in DevOps, cloud, machine learning, and automation, along with those trained in agile methodology, UX design, and mobile. TD said the anticipated influx of talent will continue to help drive investments the bank has made in new technologies and digital experiences for customers, as well as help empower innovation through collaboration.

Asked how many of the 2,000 jobs would be coming to the Philadelphia region, a TD spokeswoman would only say they will be located across the U.S. and Canada.

“Together with technology teams across our footprint, we are committed to help drive agility, innovation and speed at scale to serve our customers and address their rapidly changing expectations,” Greg Keeley, senior executive vice president for platforms and technology for the bank, said in a statement.

In Florida, the expansion comes via a multiyear relationship with the Alan B. Levan NSU Broward Center of Innovation, a hub for tech talent and innovation that includes students, academia, early-stage innovators, venture capitalists, and economic development experts.

TD said the plans in South Florida will expand on its existing innovation ecosystem which includes:

• A “fusion strategy” that engages cyber teams in Singapore, Toronto, Tel Aviv, and Mount Laurel, New Jersey, to employ an always-on approach to cyber threat management while tapping into pools of local talent in each of those locations.
• TD Lab at Communitech, a public-private innovation hub in the region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, designed to explore innovation, with a focus on customer experience, entrepreneurship, growth, international business development, and women in technology.
• TD Design Centre of Excellence focused on creating industry-leading digital experiences that help address the evolving needs of TD customers.

The expansion in Florida comes as TD Bank plans to grow significantly in the Southeast after announcing in March its planned $13.4 billion acquisition of Memphis, Tennessee-based First Horizon Corp. — which operates 412 branches and 1.1 million customers across 12 states.

The deal expands TD’s strongholds in New England and the Mid-Atlantic into seven new Southeast states — Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas — adds to an existing presence in Virginia and the Carolinas while greatly expanding in Florida. TD has 156 locations in the Sunshine State while First Horizon has 102. TD will grow in Miami from 4.3% deposits market share to 7.3%, from 2.3% to 5.1% in Orlando and from 2.6% to 3.3% in Tampa.

TD will move from No. 8 to No. 6 on the list of the largest U.S. banks once the First Horizon deal is completed later this year. With that growth comes the need for more tech workers to assist with information technology, cybersecurity, compliance, product innovation and more.

In a move that might help lure in tech talent, TD recently announced 3% raises for most of its non-executive employees in the U.S. and Canada. And while many of its rivals have already mandates employees return to the office between three to five days a week, TD said it will bring workers back on a voluntary basis next month while it figures out a hybrid working arrangement strategy.