Scotiabank to Exit Nine 'Smaller' Caribbean Countries in Major Shake-up

TORONTO — Bank of Nova Scotia said today that it has struck a deal to sell banking businesses in nine of the smaller countries in the Caribbean as the lender continues to narrow down the number of international markets in which it operates.

Affected countries are: Anguilla, Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Lucia, Sint Maarten, St. Kitts & Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The move comes as Scotiabank, which has said larger markets in Latin America are still very much part of its plans, reported that profit from its international banking unit grew at a greater rate than that of its Canadian business over the past year.

“Exiting these non-core operations is consistent with a strategy that began five years ago to sharpen our focus, increase scale in core geographies and businesses, improve earnings quality and reduce risk to the bank,” said Scotiabank president and CEO Brian Porter during a conference call this morning, adding that the bank has now either exited or announced its intentions to exit more than 20 countries or businesses over that same period.

Read more: http://vifreepress.com/2018/11/scotiabank-to-exit-nine-small-caribbean-countries-in-major-shake-up/