(Bloomberg) — The rising cost of a U.S. investigation into Toronto-Dominion Bank’s money-laundering controls is casting a dark shadow over one of the world’s strongest bank credit ratings: Moody’s Ratings followed its rivals and gave the company a negative rating.

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TD’s announcement last week that it would provide an additional $2.6 billion to resolve investigations raises concerns about the seriousness of the case and its ultimate consequences, Moody’s said in a statement late Tuesday.

The change “reflects the inherent uncertainty associated with the magnitude of financial penalties and the nature and duration of potential non-financial penalties that could be imposed in connection with these challenges,” Robert Colangelo, senior credit expert at Moody’s, said in the statement. The incident “may not be consistent” with the bank’s base credit rating of A1, he said, noting that the company is among the highest-rated banks globally.

A spokesman for the bank declined to comment.

Canada’s second-largest bank estimated on August 21 that it will have to pay $3 billion in connection with its violations of U.S. regulations. Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings revised their forecasts to negative earlier this year, citing the government’s review of controls.

– With support from Christine Dobby.

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