TD has a new chief compliance officer.
Erin Morrow, who joined the Canadian lender from Citi in January, is taking on the role after TD’s previous chief compliance officer, Monica Kowal, left the bank July 2, TD said in an internal memo seen by The Globe and Mail.
The memo did not detail the reasons behind Kowal’s departure. The bank declined to comment on the matter to The Globe and Mail or Reuters.
This means two of the three highest-ranking executives assigned to address deficiencies in TD’s regulatory compliance management framework have left the bank in a matter of days.
Kowal was overseeing remediation on the framework, alongside Denise Morris, a vice president of compliance at the bank, and Emily Jelich, head of compliance at TD Securities, The Globe and Mail reported in May. Jelich retired at the end of June.
Morrow reports to Ajai Bambawale, TD’s chief risk officer.
“A seasoned and respected leader, Erin has more than 20 years of experience in compliance, audit, and risk management,” Bambawale said in the memo, dated June 28. “She has extensive experience working in complex organizations with a global footprint, which will serve her well in this role.”
Morrow “has already made a significant impact within the compliance organization and across the bank, including building the compliance transformation team,” Bambawale added.
Morrow came to TD as deputy chief compliance officer after more than 10 years at Citi — serving as chief auditor, then chief compliance officer for the New York City-based lender’s global consumer bank, and finally chief of compliance testing, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Kowal, meanwhile, leaves TD after nearly seven years — first as a compliance executive in wealth management, then adding other responsibilities before assuming the chief compliance officer role in 2022. Prior to joining TD, she served as general counsel, then vice chair of the Ontario Securities Commission, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Kowal “played a key role developing strategies to mitigate regulatory compliance risks and providing advice, thought leadership and guidance on a broad range of regulatory compliance considerations,” Bambawale said in the June 28 memo.
TD’s executive switch-up in compliance comes at a critical time for the bank, which faces investigations by three U.S. regulators, the Justice Department and Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.
The OSFI ordered TD to fix deficiencies in its regulatory compliance management framework, which the agency found during a recent assessment, The Globe and Mail reported in May. Earlier that month, The Wall Street Journal reported TD is under investigation after Justice Department agents found that criminals used the bank in efforts to launder at least $653 million tied to the drug fentanyl.
TD set aside $450 million last quarter to cover potential penalties from one of the three U.S. regulators investigating the bank’s anti-money laundering systems. Analysts have estimated, though, that TD’s fines in the matter could total $4 billion, according to Reuters.
TD executives said the bank had spent about C$500 million ($366 million), as of May, on hiring, technology and enterprise-wide training, as part of a “comprehensive overhaul” of its AML program in the U.S.
