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Toronto-Dominion Bank surpassed Royal Bank of Canada as the country’s largest lender by assets for the first time after a decade-long expansion in U.S. consumer lending.

Toronto-Dominion reported $862.5 billion in total assets as of Oct. 31, according to financial statements, compared with $860.8 billion at Royal Bank, which held the top spot for most of the last century. Both companies are based in Toronto.

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“The change is largely dictated by the different strategies of the banks,” John Aiken, an analyst at Barclays Plc in Toronto, said in an interview. “TD has been focusing on retail banking, which typically involves lending and assets that fall onto the balance sheet, whereas Royal’s strategy has been more on expanding wealth management and capital markets, which are not driven by assets to the same degree.”

Toronto-Dominion Bank’s climb has been fueled by acquisitions, including its takeover of Canada Trust parent CT Financial Services Inc. in 2000 and a U.S. expansion that began in 2004 when the lender agreed to buy a 51% stake in Portland, Maine-based Banknorth Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Ed Clark, 66, who joined Toronto-Dominion with the Canada Trust takeover, led the U.S. push during his tenure.