TD Bank names Canadian banking head Ray Chun new CEO; Masrani to retire
Adds details from conference call, graphic
By Nivedita Balu and Manya Saini
Sept 19 (Reuters) -TD Bank TD.TO CEO Bharat Masrani will retire next year and hand over the job to the head of its Canadian banking unit Ray Chun, as Canada's second-biggest lender braces for expected U.S. fines for weakness in its anti-money laundering protocols.
Masrani, who became CEO in 2014, is set to step down in April, Toronto-based TD said on Thursday. TD also said Riaz Ahmed, the head of its capital markets unit TD Securities, will retire in January.
Masrani has focused on the bank's U.S. unit as it sought growth opportunities outside of Canada, building that business to become the 10th largest bank in the United States, with about $400 billion in assets and a network of 1,150 branches on the East Coast.
The bank last year ran into trouble with the U.S. government, including the Justice Department, for weakness in its anti-money laundering protocols after TD terminated its $13.4 billion acquisition of Tennessee-based First Horizon that would have grown its network in the Southwestern United States.
TD reported its first loss in decades in August as it set aside $2.6 billion to cover expected fines from U.S. regulators.
"This took place on my watch as CEO, and I take full responsibility," Masrani told analysts on Thursday.
"In the coming months, I will continue to advance and direct the critical remediation program required to meet our obligations and responsibilities and strengthen our risk and control foundation," Masrani added.
U.S. regulatory investigations relate to allegations that Chinese drug traffickers used TD to launder at least $650 million from 2016 through 2021 and that an employee took a bribe to facilitate laundering of drug money.
Chun joined TD's management training program in 1992 and has served in a number of senior positions over the past 32 years, including at its brokerage, insurance and wealth management businesses, and most recently as head of Canadian personal banking.
Chun assured investors he comes with prior experience running "big businesses, complicated businesses" and working with control and risk teams as he steps into the hot seat.
Analysts called Chun an unexpected pick, noting he had no direct ties with the U.S. operations, led by Leo Salom.
"Ray (Chun) and Leo have strong working relationships. Ray has run many businesses and is looking forward to working closely with Leo in the years to come," Masrani told analysts.
TD's stock has gained nearly 54% during Masrani's tenure, though it is in negative territory this year. Its shares were up about 1.8% on Thursday morning.
"The timing is a bit of a surprise," Jefferies analyst John Aiken said on Thursday. "We had assumed that the announcement would be made after the (U.S.) investigation was complete."
TD also announced a slew of executive changes: Paul Clark will head its Wealth Management unit, Sona Mehta will take Chun's role as head of Canadian personal banking and Tim Wiggan will replace Ahmed as head of TD Securities.
Masrani said the timing of the announcement came as about 2,500 executives from around the world were gathered in Toronto for an annual senior management conference.
TD shares under Masrani's leadership https://reut.rs/4e7fcp3
Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru and Nivedita Balu in Toronto; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Will Dunham
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