TORONTO, Jan. 16, 2015 /CNW/ - TD Bank Group (TD) announced today that Bharat Masrani, Group President and Chief Executive Officer, TD Bank Group, will enact an automatic plan to exercise stock options expiring in December 2015 (which are disclosed in TD's proxy circular). The plan covers 31% of Mr. Masrani's outstanding options. Mr. Masrani intends to hold the shares he acquires, net of the number of shares sold to generate cash sufficient to cover exercise costs and applicable taxes. Mr. Masrani has a share ownership requirement of ten times his base salary which he exceeds by a wide margin.

All options subject to the plan are due to expire this year. Mr. Masrani made the decision to enter into the plan at this time due to TD's conservative trading policies that could prevent him from trading TD shares or exercising options for potentially long periods of time. Under these policies, trading is not permitted for at least six weeks prior to each quarterly release. From time to time, particular circumstances arise that further restrict trading and the combined effect can be a blackout for certain individuals for the better part of a year.

Under TD's policies and applicable securities rules, TD is required to announce by way of press release executives' intention to conduct any transaction in TD stock, including the exercise of stock options at least five business days in advance of the date of the transaction, and any intention to enter into an automatic plan.

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 more than 23 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 9.4 million active online and mobile customers. TD had CDN$945 billion in assets on October 31, 2014. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades under the symbol "TD" on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges. 

SOURCE TD Bank Group