The chief executive of Bank of Nova Scotia said Tuesday that the lender is focusing on bulking up in the countries where its operations are strongest — Canada, the United States and four key markets in Latin America.
The remarks come amid Scotiabank’s efforts to cut down on the number of international markets it does business in, a process that has been playing out over several years. The withdrawal plans have met with some concern in the Caribbean, and drawn scrutiny from a competition regulator in the region. Even with the exits, Scotiabank is still drawing a fair share of profit from abroad. Porter noted that around 85 per cent of the lender’s earnings last year had come from six core geographies: Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Peru, Chile and Colombia.