Good afternoon. My name is Andrew Pilkington, and I am the executive vice-president for branch banking at TD Bank Group. I was born in the U.K. and have lived and worked in Europe, South America, and, for the last 14 years, Canada. I am proud to say that my family and I are dual Canadian-British citizens. In my role at TD, I lead 22,000 employees in 1,150 branches across Canada.

I appreciate the opportunity to be here today.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, or OSFI, is our home prudential regulator, the regulator that oversees the stability of Canadian financial institutions by ensuring that they, like TD Bank Group, are meeting agreed standards for capital, liquidity, and leverage, as well as conducting themselves in a safe and sound manner. OSFI also interacts with all the other regulators, both domestic and international, that oversee our individual lines of business.

With respect to the consumer protection rules, of the 22,000 employees in branch banking, those providing core banking services are overseen by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, or FCAC. About 4,000 of those 22,000 employees are registered with the Mutual Fund Dealers Association, or MFDA, to sell mutual funds. MFDA members are licensed by provincial securities commissions, and the MFDA is the national body that oversees the Canadian mutual fund industry.

We also have TD employees in TD Waterhouse Canada who are registered with the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, IIROC, to provide investment advice. IIROC members are licensed with provincial securities commissions, and IIROC is a national body overseeing Canadian investment dealers.

I think this is important to understand, given the scope of the federal consumer protection regime.

Now, let me turn to the matter that is before this committee.

When we first heard the media report that started this discussion, frankly, we were all very surprised and very troubled. TD has always been a customer-focused organization, with a strong track record of developing internal talent. That's not just our view—we know this from our ongoing surveys that evaluate customer experience and employee satisfaction. These findings are validated by external benchmarks like J.D. Power's consumer rankings and Aon Hewitt's study of top employers in Canada. What was reported in the media does not square with the organization that I, along with all my colleagues at TD, know and respect.

Soon after the allegations appeared, many of my colleagues and I spent time travelling the country and meeting our front-line people to talk with them face to face. There were two clear messages in the feedback I received: They told me the way TD is being portrayed in the media does not align with their experiences, and they also told me that if such problems are identified, they expect me, Andy, to stamp them out. I couldn't agree with them more.

In any large company, some challenging situations will occur that need to be dealt with. We have processes in place to monitor sales practices, detect issues, and address them if they do arise. It is our vision to be the better bank in every aspect of how we run our business, how we treat our customers, and how we support our people.

We constantly look for areas of opportunity and ways to improve, and this matter is no different. I can assure you that we are again looking at ways we can improve our processes to better monitor, identify, and deal swiftly with any potential inappropriate activity.

Our mission at TD is simple: to enrich the lives of our customers, communities, and colleagues. In our branches, day in and day out, our people fulfill that mission by welcoming customers, understanding their needs, offering them helpful advice, and enabling them to meet their own goals and aspirations.

Thank you very much.

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