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Then-president and CEO of TD Bank Ed Clark addresses shareholders at the company's annual general meeting in Calgary, Alberta, April 3, 2014.Todd Korol/Reuters

Ed Clark has retired from his job as chief executive of Toronto-Dominion Bank with a nest egg of more than $164-million, based on the value of his TD shares alone.

According to a management proxy circular released on Thursday, Mr. Clark held TD share units valued at more than $63.1-million at the end of 2014, highlighting the wisdom of holding onto an investment for the long term.

He has vested share units of nearly $82.3-million and another $18.8-million worth of share units that have not yet vested.

In terms of total compensation for 2014, Mr. Clark's pay rose to $11.3-million from $10.3-million the year before.

The proxy circulars provide shareholders with a once-a-year glimpse into the compensation packages of top executives at Canadian banks – and while the numbers can look jaw-dropping in some cases, the banks make efforts to justify them.

In the case of TD, the bank noted that compensation is competitive with its peers. It also stressed that 2014 was a strong year for the bank. Adjusted earnings, which take into account what they see as one-time events, hit a record high of $8.1-billion, up 15.1 per cent on a per share basis over 2013.

The bank also pointed out that shareholders profited alongside executives. TD shares delivered gains of 20.1 per cent after factoring in dividends in 2014. Over the past five years, TD shares have outperformed the benchmark S&P/TSX composite index and the S&P/TSX bank index.

"After considering his personal performance, and the performance of the bank during the year, the board approved total direct compensation for Mr. Clark of $11.325-million, an increase of 10 per cent from 2013," TD said in its circular.

While his base salary of $1.5-million didn't change from 2013, items such as share-based awards and option-based awards moved higher.

Mr. Clark also retires with a pension that pays nearly $2.5-million a year. He stepped down from his post in October, 2014, and was succeeded by Bharat Masrani.

Mr. Masrani's total ownership of TD share units stands at $41-million.

After he assumed his duties as chief executive, his base salary was bumped up to $1-million from $750,000. However, if he meets his performance targets, his total direct compensation for 2015 will be $9-million, up from $8.175-million in 2014, when he served as TD's chief operating officer.

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Tickers mentioned in this story

Study and track financial data on any traded entity: click to open the full quote page. Data updated as of 28/03/24 4:10pm EDT.

SymbolName% changeLast
D-N
Dominion Energy Inc
+1.38%49.19
TD-N
Toronto Dominion Bank
-0.43%60.38
TD-T
Toronto-Dominion Bank
-0.63%81.75

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