Catering to customers has TD Bank in growth position

Mark Crandall has been regional president for Massachusetts and Rhode Island at The Toronto-Dominion Bank and TD Banknorth Inc., since Dec. 31, 2006. He also became regional president for Connecticut in April 2012.Crandall also serves as senior vice president of U. S. personal and commercial banking at TD Bank. He has served as an executive vice president and regional commercial-lending manager of TD Banknorth Inc. Crandall discusses TD Bank’s growth plans and its growing presence in Rhode Island.

PBN: What are your responsibilities as a regional president?
CRANDALL: I have direct responsibility for all of our stores, a total of 232 across Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. That includes about 3,500 employees.

PBN: How has TD Bank fared in your region over the last year?
CRANDALL: If you have been in our stores or spoken with our people, then you know that our model is one of convenience. We’re open early in the morning and late at night, and on Saturdays and Sundays. We do everything we can to make the banking experience easier for our customers. People can access the bank any time of day or night.
That model has worked in helping us build our deposit base, and not just in this region. We are opening new stores and each one has either met or exceeded our expectations.

PBN: How have you fared with commercial customers?
CRANDALL: We continue to grow our commercial base even though competition has stiffened substantially over the last 12 months, as many banks are re-entering the market to rebuild their assets. For a while we were having things our way but now it’s a little more difficult. We have taken on more customers, with some of them leaving their old bank. We continue to take market share from other banks but the growth this year is probably less than last year.

PBN: Are there any new services or products that have helped you with this growth?
CRANDALL: It would be hard to pick just one product; we focus on all of them. We have been working very hard to expand our small-business activity across the board, including lending and banking. We think it is a unique opportunity.

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PBN: Are companies saving their money in savings accounts rather than investing?
CRANDALL: Yes, but that is changing. We measure it in terms of credit utilization, which continues to go down. Businesses have been continuing to grow their savings but it is starting to change. Over the last three to six months we are starting to see more investment. We see them hiring more employees, building inventory and improving. People are starting to feel more optimistic. I hope that once the presidential election is behind us people will really start to invest and help the economy.

PBN: Are there signs there will be growth in the economy soon?
CRANDALL: I think there is. There is some pent-up demand. Consumer spending is increasing and the automotive industry is talking about producing 15 million vehicles this year. There is a fair amount of spending going on but I think that until business owners are convinced it is sustainable, they’re reluctant to invest too aggressively.

PBN: TD Bank has a strong presence in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Will the bank’s footprint be slowly expanding more in the Rhode Island area?
CRANDALL: Rhode Island is a natural growth market for us. We do have a strong presence in Worcester County and in northern Connecticut. Rhode Island is a natural progression and we think there is a market for a bank model as strong as ours, where we can come in and make a difference. We have five stores in the market and we are opening a new branch in Cranston. We also have other locations on the drawing board in various stages of planning across Rhode Island. We’ve added more than 70 employees in Rhode Island over the last few years.

PBN: What can we expect to see from TD Bank in the future?
CRANDALL: I think you will see new stores where we will build-out a new market. We will continue to build-out Greater Boston and the South Shore. We will continue to look for opportunities in Connecticut and we have a well-defined strategy for Rhode Island. We are a growth company and we’ll continue to take market share and invest in our business in southern New England, and we’ve positioned ourselves to do just that.

PBN: How would you describe your presence in the community?
CRANDALL: Sometimes what we do in the communities goes quietly by. We’ve sponsored WaterFire. Also, what tends to be overlooked is the people we have on the ground in all these communities doing things like literacy education. Our Rhode Island team is incredibly well-engaged in the market. They spend a lot of their personal time and the bank’s time out in the community helping people that need it.
We also take our diversity initiative very seriously and we are constantly looking for ways to reach out to build our employee and customer base in new ways. The demographics are always changing and we have to try to change with it. •

INTERVIEW
Mark C. Crandall
POSITION: TD Bank regional president, southern New England
BACKGROUND: Crandall has been with TD Bank for more than 15 years and has been in the banking industry for more than 30 years.
EDUCATION: Bachelor of arts degree in finance, 1982, Calif. State University at Fullerton; also attended Babson College
FIRST JOB: Dishwasher in Rye, N.H.
RESIDENCE: Northborough, Mass.
AGE: 54

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