Scotiabank adds Panama holdings

CBC News

Bank of Nova Scotia said Wednesday it has strengthened its position in the Caribbean and Central American markets with the acquisition of more wealth management businesses.

Scotiabank strengthened its position in the Caribbean and Central American markets with the acquisition BNP Paribas’s wealth management businesses. (CBC)The bank, which bills itself as the most international of all Canadian banks, said it acquired the wealth management business of BNP Paribas in Panama and the Cayman Islands after receiving all regulatory and other approvals.

This follows its earlier purchase of a portion of BNP Paribas’s wealth management business in the Bahamas.

The bank said the deals were not financially material to Scotiabank, and terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

“This transaction is an excellent example of the strategic opportunities we will pursue through our new Global Wealth Management division,” said Chris Hodgson, group head, global wealth management.

“With recognized strength in wealth management and demonstrated global expertise, we are well positioned to serve customers with a greater breadth and depth of experience than ever before,” he said

Last month, Scotiabank said that it would buy a Brazilian bank, boosting its presence in the key South American market. It struck the agreement with Commerzbank AG to acquire Dresdner Bank Brasil S.A., a wholesale bank headquartered in Sao Paulo.

Also last month, it introduced a separate global wealth management division as it reworked its structure into four businesses. It said the move would give it more opportunities for strategic growth and change how the bank reports its earnings, breaking the results into four divisions rather than three.

Under the new format, the new division will handle wealth management and insurance from Scotiabank’s global and Canadian operations, as well as global transaction banking.