Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canada’s second-largest lender, may target takeovers in the U.S. with help from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Chief Financial Officer Colleen Johnston said.

“We are actively looking at FDIC-assisted deals,” Johnston told investors at a conference today in New York sponsored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “We have a great relationship with the FDIC and have complete access to those deals.”

The Toronto-based bank bid on “at least one” FDIC- assisted transaction in the past, which Johnston identified as BankUnited Financial Corp. The Coral Gables, Florida-based lender filed for Chapter 11 protection in May.

The FDIC, which insures bank deposits, helps find buyers for failing banks before they are closed by their primary regulators. About 120 U.S. banks have failed this year, including nine in Florida, according to the FDIC Web site.

Toronto-Dominion, which has about as many branches in the U.S. as in Canada, is looking at FDIC transactions in Florida, where it has about 30 branches. Other areas of potential expansion include Boston and Washington, she said.

Toronto-Dominion will open 30 to 50 branches on a “go- forward basis” in the U.S., Johnston said. She wasn’t more specific.

“In terms of deployment of capital over time, I think there will be more opportunities in the United States than there will be in Canada,” Johnston said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sean B. Pasternak in Toronto at spasternak@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 10, 2009 15:43 EST