TORONTO, Nov. 3, 2014 /CNW/ - TD Bank Group today welcomed new Group President and CEO Bharat Masrani to his role. On April 3, 2013, TD's Board of Directors announced that in keeping with TD's succession plan, Bharat would succeed Ed Clark on November 1, 2014.

"I want to congratulate Ed on his exceptional tenure as TD's CEO and thank him for his incredible leadership and friendship over the past 12 years," said Mr. Masrani.

"I am incredibly honoured to be leading this great institution. TD's business model, brand and management team are stronger than ever. We will continue to work hard to be The Better Bank for our 22 million customers, the communities where we operate, and our more than 85,000 dedicated TD employees."

Mr. Masrani has more than 27 years of banking experience and is a member of TD's Board of Directors. He has held executive roles in TD's Commercial, Corporate Banking and Wealth businesses, and has served as the Bank's Chief Risk Officer and Group Head U.S. Personal and Commercial Banking and President and CEO, TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®. Since July 1, 2013, he has held the position of Chief Operating Officer at the Bank.

"Bharat brings a proven track record of performance and a tremendous breadth of experience steeped in the culture and values shared by the entire TD Board and senior executive team," said Brian Levitt, Chairman of TD's Board of Directors. "The Board has full confidence in Bharat's leadership and his management team."

Also today, TD's Board of Directors announced that Ed Clark has stepped down from the Board. Mr. Clark had previously announced his intention to remain a Director until the Bank's 2015 Annual General Meeting on March 26.

"We are grateful to Ed for his leadership and the incredible impact he's made in driving growth and success at TD," said Mr. Levitt. "We wish him all the very best in the future."

About TD Bank Group

The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD Bank Group ("TD" or the "Bank"). TD is the sixth largest bank in North America by branches and serves over 22 million customers in three key businesses operating in a number of locations in financial centres around the globe: Canadian Retail, including TD Canada Trust, TD Auto Finance Canada, TD Wealth (Canada), TD Direct Investing, and TD Insurance; U.S. Retail, including TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, TD Auto Finance U.S., TD Wealth (U.S.) and an investment in TD Ameritrade; and Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities. TD also ranks among the world's leading online financial services firms, with approximately 8.8 million active online and mobile customers. TD had CDN$922 billion in assets on July 31, 2014. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades under the symbol "TD" on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges.

SOURCE TD Bank Group