/R E P E A T -- Scotiabank to Hold 177th Annual Meeting of Shareholders and First Quarter Results Conference Call in Halifax/

    TORONTO, Feb. 26 /CNW/ - Scotiabank is holding its 177th Annual Meeting
of Shareholders on Tuesday, March 3, 2009 in Halifax.Annual Meeting
    --------------
    -  World Trade and Convention Centre, Grand Ballroom B,
       1800 Argyle Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
    -  Tuesday, March 3, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. EST (10:00 a.m. AST)

    Annual Meeting Webcast
    ----------------------
    -  A live audio webcast of the Annual Meeting will be available via the
       Investor Relations page of www.scotiabank.com and will be archived for
       one year.

    First Quarter Results News Release
    ----------------------------------
    -  A news release of the first quarter results will be issued in Canada
       over Canada NewsWire and in the U.S. over PR Newswire before the
       markets open on Tuesday, March 3, 2009.

    First Quarter Results Conference Call
    -------------------------------------
    -  The conference call will take place on Tuesday, March 3, 2009 at
       11:30 a.m. EST (12:30 p.m. AST) and is expected to last approximately
       one hour.
    -  Interested parties are invited to access the call live, in listen-only
       mode:
       -  Via telephone, toll-free, at (800) 731-5319 (please call five to
          15 minutes in advance).
       -  Via the Internet on the Investor Relations section of
          www.scotiabank.com.
    -  During the call, listeners may also wish to refer to the Quarterly
       Results information displayed on the Investor Relations section of
       www.scotiabank.com.
    -  Following discussion of the results by Scotiabank Executives, there
       will be a question and answer session. Listeners are also invited to
       submit questions by e-mail to investor.relations@scotiabank.com.
    -  A telephone replay of the call will be available from March 3, 2009 to
       March 17, 2009 by calling (416) 640-1917
       (identification code 21297445 followed by the number sign).
    -  The archived audio webcast will be available on the Investor Relations
       page of www.scotiabank.com from approximately 6:00 p.m. EST on
       March 3, 2009 for three months.Scotiabank is one of North America's premier financial institutions and
Canada's most international bank. With more than 69,000 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 $508 billion in assets (as at October 31, 2008), Scotiabank trades on the
Toronto (BNS) and New York Exchanges (BNS). For more information please visit
www.scotiabank.com.




For further information:
For further information: Patty Stathokostas, Scotiabank Public Affairs,
(416) 866-3625, patty_stathokostas@scotiacapital.com