TD boosts mining M&A team with former top Barrick banker

TORONTO (Reuters) - TD Securities boosted its mining M&A team on Monday by bringing in former Barrick Gold Corp (Toronto:ABX.TO - News) head of corporate development Rick McCreary, who steered Barrick through a portfolio re-jig over the last three years.

TD Securities, a unit of Toronto-Dominion Bank (Toronto:TD.TO - News), said McCreary will join it as deputy chairman of investment banking. It said he will work closely with Michael Faralla, TD's head of mining M&A.

"The mining sector is a core franchise for TD," said Patrick Meneley, TD's vice chairman of investment banking. "Rick's appointment underscores just how important the sector is to TD and how committed we are to growing our team and our franchise."

McCreary started his investment banking career with TD in the mid-1990s and then went on to join rival CIBC (Toronto:CM.TO - News) and head the mining M&A team there. He joined Barrick, the world's biggest gold producer, in 2011, shortly after the miner acquired Equinox Minerals. He steered the miner's asset sales process through a fairly rough patch for Barrick and for the entire gold-mining industry.

"Rick will bring a lot to our business, both in terms of bringing new clients relationships to TD, but also importantly by working with our coverage team to help enhance our existing relationships and to broaden and grow our franchise," Faralla said in an interview.

(Reporting by Euan Rocha; Editing by Peter Galloway)