Inside sources said Toronto Dominion Bank and E*Trade would have word on a possible deal for TD Waterhouse this week, and they did. The deal is off.

A deal would have created the second largest direct-distribution brokerage firm behind Charles Schwab Corp. Reports last week hinted that TD Bank would have retained a 60 percent stake in its TD Waterhouse unit.

The two companies said on Sunday that they had been unable to reach an agreement and that they had ended negotiations. TD Bank confirmed the talks last Tuesday after the Toronto Globe & Mail broke the story on Monday.

The paper added that earlier talks between TD Bank and other suitors including Schwab and Ameritrade fell through over strategic differences.  

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