The Financial Post reports in its Friday edition that Canadian banks have amassed their biggest war chest in five years -- and they are ready to use it. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post says that the country's six largest lenders are approaching their strongest capital position since 2013, leaving them with enough cash to pursue acquisitions, buy back shares or build from within. The banks are estimated to have $14-billion of excess capital, with TD Bank holding the biggest coffer at $5.8-billion, according to Sumit Malhotra, a bank analyst at Scotia Capital. BMO has $3-billion followed by Royal Bank at $2.1-billion, while Scotiabank and CIBC each have $1-billion of excess capital. "From an acquisition perspective, recent moves by CIBC and Scotia show that building out franchises outside Canada remains a key priority for the sector," Mr. Malhotra said. "With the CET1 ratio of TD now approaching 12 per cent, we think adding scale to the U.S. banking and wealth management presence of the bank in the U.S. is clearly an area of interest." TD Bank management says the company will consider more credit-card deals such as those with Target and Nordstrom, plus U.S. bank takeovers along the Eastern Seaboard and southeast.