Toronto-Dominion Won't Give Guidance on Basel Capital Impact, Clark Says

Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canada’s second-largest bank, doesn’t plan to give specific guidance today on the impact of new capital requirements, Chief Executive Officer Edmund Clark said.

“I know for us, there are several items outstanding that are of significant value,” Clark said today in a telephone interview. “What we are saying is, ‘even if you took the most conservative end of that, we’ll have no trouble meeting those rules.’”

Clark added that Toronto-Dominion will not need to raise capital to meet the requirements.

Banks have until 2019 to meet an overhaul of bank regulation drawn up by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. National Bank of Canada told investors this week it expects to meet that target by the end of 2012, and that it expects a 250 basis point to 275 basis point reduction on its capital ratios as it makes the transition.

“I worry a little bit that the industry is getting a little bit ahead of itself into an arms race,” said Clark, 63. “The arms race is going to try to cause every one of us to carry way more capital than the internationally agreed-on Basel agreement.”

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Chief Risk Officer Tom Woods told investors today the bank expects to have its capital ratios “comfortable above” the 2019 minimums by Nov. 1, 2012.

Clark is scheduled to speak later today on an earnings conference call. The Toronto-based lender said today that net income for the period ended Oct. 31 dropped 1.6 percent to C$994 million ($990 million), or C$1.07 a share.

(Toronto-Dominion will hold a conference call at 3 p.m. local time to discuss results. To listen, dial +1-416-644-3414 or +1- 877-974-0445, or visit www.td.com/investor/qr_2010.jsp on the Internet.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Sean B. Pasternak in Toronto at spasternak@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Scanlan at dscanlan@bloomberg.net; David Scheer at dscheer@bloomberg.net.