TD is No.1 in Customer Service Excellence among the top 5 banks say customers in 2011 Synovate Survey

TD receives Best Banking Awards in all eleven categories, topping the other big banks in Customer Service Excellence, Value For Money, Values My Business, Branch Service Excellence and Online Banking Excellence

TORONTO, Aug. 30, 2011 /CNW/ - TD Canada Trust has earned the number 1 ranking in Customer Service Excellence among the top 5 banks in Canada for the seventh year in a row, according to a survey by global market research firm Synovate. TD was an award recipient among the top 5 banks in all eleven categories and leads by a significant margin in five of the eleven categories.

"A seventh win is truly a milestone for TD and all of our employees - and we owe it all to our customers" said Tim Hockey, President and CEO, TD Canada Trust. "Our brand is all about delivering service and convenience and this award is a result of our employees' passion to make this real for our customers."

Synovate's annual awards program ranks the top five banks and other financial institutions in eleven Best Banking Awards categories. The 2011 ranking recognized TD Canada Trust as an Award recipient in all 11 categories among the top 5 banks.

Synovate Best Banking Awards 2011 - TD receives awards in all eleven categories:

• Customer service excellence*
• Value for money*
• Recommend to friends or family
• Values my business*
• Products and services excellence
• Interest rates and service charges
• Financial planning and advice
• Branch service excellence*
• ATM banking excellence
• Online banking excellence*
• Telephone banking excellence

* TDCT has statistically significant lead over other Big 5 Banks

"Our customers count on us to be there when they need us, in person, online or over the phone, and each year we work to make improvements on how we deliver for them. They put their trust in us to help them with some of life's biggest milestones - buying a first house, buying a car or planning for education and retirement. It's a responsibility we don't take lightly, and having them rank us #1 is what makes this recognition so meaningful to us," added Hockey.

Recent service and features enhancements include:

• In addition to offering EasyWeb Internet and EasyLine telephone banking, the TD mobile app was the first to offer several new features unique to any Canadian mobile app - resulting in more than 1 million downloads, the most of any Canadian bank app.
• TD has increased branch hours to provide greater flexibility for customers. For instance in the past year, we introduced seven day banking in over 300 branches to work around our customers' busy lives, living up to our promise to provide comfortable banking in the form of great service and convenience.
• TD continues to open new branches year-after-year, in locations across Canada, growing along with our communities
• In recent years TD introduced the TD Helps program for customers who encounter unexpected financial hardship.
• TD has evolved branch design in many locations to welcome customers with more open spaces, easier access to advice and information, and amenities like coin counters, children's areas, community boardrooms and refreshment stations.

The Synovate awards come just weeks after another major customer service award for the bank. J.D. Power and Associates' recent survey ranked TD Canada Trust highest in customer satisfaction among the banks for the sixth year in a row - every year they've been measuring service in Canada.

Synovate 2011 Best Banking Awards are based on quarterly Customer Service Index (CSI) survey results. Sample size for the total 2011 CSI program year ended August 2011 was 40,353 households yielding 60,641 financial institution ratings.

About Synovate
Synovate, the market research arm of Aegis Group plc, generates insights to help clients drive competitive brand, product and customer experience strategies. A truly borderless company with offices in over 60 countries, our approach combines best in class global research capabilities with personalised service, local knowledge and the flexibility to create teams and processes that meet clients' specific requirements. At Synovate, our clients sit at the top of our organisational chart, driving us to continually develop more innovative research solutions that predict actual business outcomes. Learn more at www.synovate.com.

About TD Bank Group
The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD Bank Group (TD). TD is the sixth largest bank in North America by branches and serves more than 19 million customers in four key businesses operating in a number of locations in key financial centres around the globe: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, including TD Canada Trust and TD Insurance; Wealth Management, including TD Waterhouse and an investment in TD Ameritrade; U.S. Personal and Commercial Banking, including TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank; and Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities. TD also ranks among the world's leading online financial services firms, with approximately 7 million online customers. TD had CDN$630 billion in assets on April 30, 2011. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades under the symbol "TD" on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges.