[ by Larry Goldfarb ]

Barclay's head of Compliance who was warned about the Libor fixing scandal back in 2008 has joined a large international bank.  He is now head of compliance for Toronto-based TD Bank Group . With about 806 billion Canadian dollars ($822 billion) in assets, TD is the second-biggest bank in Canada and one of the world's largest. It runs asset-management and banking operations in Canada, the U.K. and the U.S.

Barclays in June agreed to pay about $450 million in a settlement with U.S. and British regulators over the Libor matter. The settlement agreement doesn't mention any Barclays employees by name but the regulators criticized the department headed by Mr. Morse for failing to act on employees' concerns about manipulation.  Morse Joined TD Bank group in June

With a wave of new rules being imposed on the banking industry in response to the financial crisis, demand for experienced compliance executives is intense. But some experts say that, given the troubles at Barclays, it is worrisome that Mr. Morse is now in charge of ensuring that another major international bank adheres to laws and regulations. "It's extremely troubling, but this is sadly how it goes," said Michael Mainelli, a professor of commerce at the U.K.'s Gresham College.  Others say Mr. Morse's connection to the Libor saga may actually be a plus—for both his new employer and his own career. "You probably couldn't find anyone with better experience, so just because someone had a bad run, it shouldn't stop the move," said Peter Hahn, a finance lecturer at Cass Business School in London.

Chief compliance officers are responsible for ensuring that banks and their employees adhere to an array of laws and regulations. At TD, Mr. Morse's compliance department is charged with, among other things, "ensuring that key day-to-day business controls comply with applicable legislation," according to the bank's annual report.

For further details, go to [WSJ, 9/21/12].