TORONTO and NEW YORK, Dec. 6, 2017 /CNW/ - Scotiabank announced today partnerships with two prominent Israeli technology leaders, Viola Group and Team8.  These partnerships further establish Scotiabank as a leader in the global innovation ecosystem and will help accelerate its development of technology capabilities, best-in-class customer experiences, and expertise in cybersecurity.

Scotiabank is investing in Viola FinTech I, L.P., a new venture fund that will invest in Israeli, European and North American FinTechs across various growth stages. The fund will co-invest alongside other leading global venture capital, private equity and financial institution investors. Their mission is to create mutual value by bridging the gap between financial institutions and innovative startups. The fund is led by Avi Zeevi, Prof. Daniel Tsiddon and Tomer Michaeli, an exceptionally experienced team with proven track records in banking, entrepreneurship and investment.

"We are delighted to partner with Viola Group to accelerate the Bank's digital transformation and work with the most promising FinTechs across the globe," said Ignacio (Nacho) Deschamps, Group Head, International Banking and Digital Transformation at Scotiabank. "This partnership will allow us to access Israel's innovation ecosystem including well-established cybersecurity and anti-fraud expertise by leveraging Viola Group's unique entrepreneurial and operational expertise."

"We are honoured to work with a world-class financial institution such as Scotiabank which is truly committed to innovation and its customers worldwide," said Prof. Daniel Tsiddon, principal of Viola Fintech. "We already see early results of this long-term collaboration and we look forward to working with Scotiabank to accelerate the integration of innovative ideas."

Scotiabank and Team8, Israel's most prestigious cybersecurity think tank and company-creation platform, will work together to foster cybersecurity innovation, through the exchange of knowledge, insights, and methodologies. An executive from Scotiabank will sit on Team8's advisory board alongside Chief Information and Security Officers of other global financial institutions.

"We look forward to our partnership with Team8 to deepen our technology capabilities and know-how, which are foundational to Scotiabank's digital transformation," said Michael Zerbs, Chief Technology Officer at Scotiabank. "This partnership will increase our access to Israel's world-class cybersecurity and fraud prevention ecosystem."

"We are thrilled that Scotiabank will play a role in our unique company creation model to solve the big problems in cybersecurity. It is truly a win-win partnership," said Nadav Zafrir, CEO and Co-Founder of Team8 and former Commander of Israeli Intelligence Unit 8200. "Joining our advisory board and pioneering our community of chief information security officers represents Scotiabank's deep commitment to our shared vision of partnering with the industry to empower resilience within organizations. Their insights and experience bring incredible value to our approach."

Israel has become known as the "Start-up Nation" and one of the premier places for high-tech firms and innovation. These partnerships are part of a broad digital transformation strategy the Bank is undertaking, which spans over multiple geographies and multiple strategic alliances, such as existing venture capital relationships with QED Investors, Georgian Partners and ScaleUP Ventures. Execution of this strategy has also yielded the creation of the Digital Factories in Canada, Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru, and the establishment of partnerships with academic institutions.

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is Canada's international bank and a leading financial services provider in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Central America, and Asia-Pacific. We are dedicated to helping our 24 million customers become better off through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of more than 88,000 employees and assets of over $915 billion (as at October 31, 2017), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (TSX: BNS) and New York Exchanges (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @Scotiabank.

About Viola Group

Viola Group, with over $2.8 Billion under management, is Israel's premier technology oriented private equity investment group. Viola Group aims to provide long term, world-class returns by identifying and pursuing attractive investment strategies in the vibrant Israeli technology market. Viola Group is comprised of focused independent partnerships including a venture fund, a debt fund and a growth fund. Viola is currently establishing its FinTech arm – a global cross stage FinTech focused venture fund. The group funds, backed by leading global institutional investors from all over the world, have invested in over 200 technology companies. The group was co-founded by Avi Zeevi who is considered Israel's leading Fintech investor.

About Team 8

Team8, Israel's most prestigious cybersecurity think tank and venture creation foundry, develops disruptive companies that challenge the biggest problems in cybersecurity today. The Team8 innovation process combines a research team with intimate knowledge of both offensive and defensive aspects of cybersecurity, access to the best cyber talent, and a global syndicate that provides access to customers, partners and key influencers. Team8 was founded by leading cybersecurity experts Nadav Zafrir, Israel Grimberg and Liran Grinberg, all with deep ties to Israel's famous IDF Technology & Intelligence Unit 8200. It is backed by Microsoft Ventures, Cisco, AT&T, Accenture, Qualcomm, Nokia, Temasek, Mitsui, Bessemer Venture Partners, Eric Schmidt's Innovation Endeavors and Marker LLC. For more information on Team8, please visit www.team8.vc

SOURCE Scotiabank