Scotiabank history and corporate video

 “History and expansion

 The 19th century

Scotiabank was founded in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1832 under the name of the Bank of Nova Scotia. The bank’s vision was to facilitate the trans-Atlantic trade of the time. Later, in 1883, Bank of Nova Scotia acquired The Union Bank of Prince Edward Island, although most of the bank’s expansion efforts in the century took the form of branch openings.

The bank launched its branch banking system by opening in Windsor, Nova Scotia. The expansion was limited to the Maritimes until 1882, when the bank moved west by opening a branch in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Manitoba branch later closed but the bank continued to expand into the American Midwest. This included opening a branch in Minneapolis in 1885 which later transferred to Chicago in 1892. Following the collapse of the Commercial Bank of Newfoundland and Union Bank of Newfoundland on December 10, 1894; the Bank of Nova Scotia established on December 15, 1894, in Newfoundland,

In 1899, the bank opened a branch in Boston, Massachusetts.

In the meantime, the bank opened a branch in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1889 to facilitate the trading of sugar, rum and fish. This was Scotiabank’s first move into the Caribbean and historically the first branch of a Canadian bank opened outside of the United States or the United Kingdom. By the end of the 19th century, the bank was represented in all of the Maritimes, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba.

In 1900, the bank’s headquarters were moved to Toronto, Ontario.

The 20th and 21st century

The bank continued to expand in the 20th century, although its growth now took the form of acquisitions rather than branch openings.

• 1906 – The bank opened a branch in Havana, Cuba. By 1931, it had five branches in Havana, and one branch each in Camagüey,Cienfuegos, Manzanillo, and Santiago de Cuba. In 1960, the Government of Cuba nationalized all banks in Cuba and the Scotiabank withdrew services from all eight branches.
• 1907 – The bank opened a branch in New York City.
• 1910 – The bank opened a branch in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• 1913 – Bank of Nova Scotia merged with the Bank of New Brunswick.
• 1914 – Toronto-based Metropolitan Bank was acquired, making Scotiabank the fourth largest financial institution in Canada.
• 1919 – The bank opened a branch in Fajardo.
• 1919 – Bank of Ottawa was amalgamated.
• 1920 – The bank opened a branch in London, and another in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
• 1961 – The bank became the first Canadian bank to appoint women bank managers on September 11, 1961.
• 1962 – The bank expanded into Asia with the opening of a Representative Office in Japan.
• 1978 – The bank and Canadian Union of Public Employees signed the first collective agreement between a Canadian bank and a union on September 28, 1978, in Toronto.
• 2000 – Scotiabank’s stake in Mexican bank Grupo Financiero Inverlat is increased to 55 percent. The Mexican bank is subsequently renamed to Grupo Financiero Scotiabank Inverlat.
• 2003 -The bank’s Guangzhou Branch was awarded the first licence to a Canadian bank by the Chinese government to deal in Chinese currency.
• 2003–2004 – The bank acquired Inverlat banking house in Mexico, taking over all of its branches and establishing a strong presence in the country.
• 2010 – The bank arrived in Bogotá.
• 2012 – Scotiabank enters into an agreement to acquire ING Direct Bank of Canada from ING Groep N.V.

In its early expansion, the bank clearly followed trade and its customers’ businesses rather than pursuing a strategy of expansion into international financial centres. Scotiabank is a member of the Global ATM Alliance, a joint venture of several major international banks that allows customers of the banks to use their ATM cards or check cards at certain other banks within the Global ATM Alliance without fees when traveling internationally. Other participating banks are Barclays (United Kingdom), Bank of America (United States),BNP Paribas (France and Ukraine through UkrSibbank), Deutsche Bank (Germany), and Westpac (Australia and New Zealand).

Portfolio evolution

Throughout the 20th century, the bank grew not only in size, but also in breadth of products and services. Progress was conditioned by changing consumer needs, legal changes, or acquisitions of external service providers. A short list follows:

• 1954 – Passage of the National Housing Act led Scotiabank to create a mortgage department.
• 1958 – Changes to Bank Act of 1954 enabled Scotiabank to introduce a consumer credit program.
• 1986 – Scotia Securities is formed to provide discount brokerage and security underwriting services.
• 1988 – Brokerage firm McLeod Young Weir Ltd. is acquired.
• 1994 – Scotiabank acquires Montreal Trustco Inc.
• 1997 – National Trustco Inc. is acquired for C$1.25 billion.
• 2012 – ING DIRECT, now Tangerine (as of April 2014) is acquired for C$3.13 billion.

*Information from Wikipedia.org

**Video published on YouTube by “Scotiabank“