How safe is my money? How safe is my bank?

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse comments: "Exceptional circumstances call for exceptional measures, so before we look at this week's top ten trades I wanted to address two questions that appear to be on the lips of many retail investors during these extraordinary times, namely - how safe is my money, and how safe is my bank?

"In the case of TD Waterhouse, our customers should remain confident that their assets and bank deposits with us are both safe and secure. We are backed by the financial strength of the TD Bank Financial Group (TDBFG), one of the largest financial institutions in North America with an employee base of 74,000 in offices around the world.

"TDBFG is very well capitalized with assets of CAD$509 billion. Crucially, it is one of the only banks in the world to avoid write-downs due to the US subprime mortgage market and has a "Aaa" rating from Moody's, the highest rating available. Although the impact of developments in the US are being felt to some extent all over the world, the Canadian financial services sector, and TDBFG in particular, remains well positioned.

"While we are very conscious of the trust our customers place in us when depositing their cash or their portfolio in one of our accounts, we are also acutely aware that the ability to trade is also of paramount importance. TD Waterhouse customers have always been quick to capitalise on market volatility and this week's events in particular have resulted in a record surge of activity and demand for our services.

"We are seeing a 400% increase in website traffic, double the amount of trades on an almost daily basis and we have drafted in additional call centre staff to manage call volumes. Our number one priority will always be to ensure our customers can trade and we will continue to modify and adapt our services to meet with demand during this expetionally busy period."