Discount broker Ameritrade is buying TD Bank’s Waterhouse unit in a deal valued at about $3 billion. As part of the deal, TD Waterhouse Canada has announced that it will purchase the Canadian operations of Ameritrade.

I made an earlier post that Ameritrade is a very good option for Canadians investing in US equities. While Ameritrade assures customers that it is business as usual for now, when the deal is closed, it is very likely that we will be paying much higher commissions for equity trading. Waterhouse currently charges a minimum of $29.00 compared to Ameritrade’s flat $10.99 for unlimited shares.

(FD: I own shares in TD Bank)