The Canadian bank has identified several opportunities for acquisitions in Latin America as larger financial institutions are narrowing their business in the region to focus on core markets where they have a notable market share, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The bank is also looking to expand business in Chile, Peru and Colombia, in addition to Mexico. It is targeting to increase earnings by nearly 11% in these countries by investing in technology, expanding customer base and cutting costs over the next five years, as reported by Bloomberg.
Bank of Nova Scotia international banking head Dieter Jentsch was quoted by the Bloomberg as saying: "Combined, our operations in Mexico, Peru, Chile and Colombia are expected to deliver an overall 9 to 11 percent growth rate in earnings, which will help offset the lower growth we’re seeing in the Caribbean region and the negative impact of increasing tax costs across our business."
Scotiabank is anticipating to generate nearly C$40m ($27m) in added earnings from digitizing banking operations in the four Pacific Alliance nations.
It would also generate between C$35m ($24.08m)-C$50m ($34.4m) by expanding customer base and C$30m ($20.6m)-C$40m ($27.5m) by cutting costs, mostly in its Mexico and Chile businesses.
Meanwhile, the bank is also exploring strategic options for a 49% stake in Thanachart Bank (TBank) in Thailand.
Scotiabank may begin a formal sale process this year if it plans to go forward with stake sale, Bloomberg previously reported citing people familiar with the matter.
Image: Bank of Nova Scotia is the third largest bank in Canada. Photo: courtesy of Verne Equinox / Wikipedia.
