Risk Leadership at TD Bank Group

TD Bank Group was one of the few large financial institutions in the world to have prospered during the financial meltdown and subsequent recession in 2008/9. It did this without any government assistance. Furthermore, it emerged from the crisis substantially larger in terms of market capitalization and assets while having the best performance of any of the Big-5 Canadian banks in terms of stock price and total shareholder return during the period 2003-2011.<br><br>The case describes many of the actions led by TD’s CEO, Ed Clark, following his promotion to that role after severe credit losses at the bank. It describes a shift of strategy that focused on reducing market, credit, and liquidity risk while increasing strategic risk. It also describes in depth the governance and management approach to risk at the bank as well as identifying important issues such as the establishment of a risk-management culture, the relationship between executive compensation and risk, and the formulation and promulgation of a clear statement of risk appetite. Further, it allows the instructor to focus on the many types of risk that have to be managed in a financial organization including strategic, market, credit, liquidity, operational, insurance, legal/regulatory, and reputational risk and how these might be traded-off against each other.<br><br>Students are required to identify which actions taken by TD are likely to have contributed to the bank’s excellent performance and the extent to which those actions may have been reflected in the performance of the bank’s stock. They need to consider whether avoiding market, credit, and liquidity risk was worth it for TD given that the company did not achieve superior performance to its peers before the financial crisis, a fact that was reflected in its disappointing stock performance.

This case can be used in courses that focus on the management of financial institutions, risk management, leadership, and organizational design. With its extensive description of one financial institution’s risk governance and management structures, systems and processes, the case also acts as a primer in risk management for those who know little or nothing about this topic and need a better understanding.

• Risk Management
• Organizational Culture
• Management of Financial Institutions
• Financial Crisis
• Canada