SAN FRANCISCO and TORONTO, May 8 /CNW/ - Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)
and Scotiabank said today that Wells Fargo will provide Scotiabank with
factoring services through its Wells Fargo Century subsidiary and treasury
services through its Global Correspondent Banking division. Factoring provides
exporters and distributors with accounts receivable financing that accelerates
cash flow by reducing the time distributors wait for payments.
    Scotiabank will begin to offer pre- and post-export financing immediately
through its Commercial Banking Centre in the Dominican Republic and plans to
expand factoring to other countries soon. In turn, Wells Fargo gains new
international business opportunities, particularly in Latin America, where
exports have increased due to the Dominican Republic-Central America Free
Trade Agreement.
    "Adding factoring to our supply chain financing capabilities will allow
us to provide our clients in the Americas and around the world with more
financing options to accelerate their accounts receivables so they can
concentrate on managing and growing their business," said Alberta Cefis,
Executive Vice-President and Group Head, Global Transaction Banking,
Scotiabank.
    "We are pleased to be working with Wells Fargo Century, a respected and
experienced factoring company," said Rob Pitfield, Executive Vice-President,
International Banking, Scotiabank. "As Canada's most international bank, we
are pleased to offer this new service to clients and looking forward to
expanding the service to more countries."
    "This is truly an international success story, bringing together not only
a U.S. and Canadian bank, but also multiple teams within Wells Fargo to
provide financing to companies outside of North America," said Stuart Brister,
president and CEO of Wells Fargo Century. "We are excited to work with
Scotiabank and leverage its expertise to provide flexible financing solutions
to customers beyond our borders."
    Scotiabank's Global Transaction Banking (GTB) business provides financial
solutions to commercial and corporate clients domestically and around the
world by drawing on more than 175 years of banking experience to meet the
needs of clients. Scotiabank, which was named "Best Trade Finance Bank in
Canada" by Global Finance magazine for 2008 and 2006, through its Global
Transaction Banking (GTB) unit, currently offers a wide variety of
supply-chain financing services, including electronic banking and payments,
trade finance, commercial and business cards, foreign exchange and
correspondent banking. In partnership with Scotiabank's International Banking
Division and its wholesale banking division, Scotia Capital, GTB has an
extensive network in some 50 countries as well as unmatched NAFTA presence and
unique footprint in the Americas.

    Scotiabank is one of North America's premier financial institutions and
Canada's most international bank. With more than 60,000 employees, Scotiabank
Group and its affiliates serve approximately 12.5 million customers in some 50
countries around the world. Scotiabank offers a diverse range of products and
services including personal, commercial, corporate and investment banking.
With $449 billion in assets (as at January 31, 2008), Scotiabank trades on the
Toronto (BNS) and New York Exchange (BNS). For more information please visit
www.scotiabank.com.

    Wells Fargo Century, the largest bank-affiliated factoring company in the
U.S., provides senior secured financing solutions for domestic and
international manufacturers, wholesalers and importers through trade finance
and factoring. Wells Fargo's Global Correspondent Banking division provides a
full array of products and services for domestic and international banks. For
more information on these units, visit wellsfargo.com/com.

    Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with
$595 billion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage
and consumer finance through almost 6,000 stores and the Internet
(wellsfargo.com) across North America and internationally. Wells Fargo Bank,
N.A. is the only bank in the U.S., and one of only two banks worldwide, to
have the highest credit rating from both Moody's Investors Service, "Aaa" and
Standard & Poor's Rating Services, "AAA."