TORONTO and NEW YORK, Aug. 14, 2018 /CNW/ - Scotiabank announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire Banco Dominicano del Progreso, a bank with operations in the Dominican Republic, subject to regulatory approval.  Scotiabank's common equity tier one capital ratio will be impacted by approximately 10 basis points. The transaction is not financially material to Scotiabank.

This move reinforces the Bank's commitment to gain greater scale in economically stable markets with strong growth prospects and should help boost profitability even further over the long term. Once the transaction closes, Scotiabank will be the Dominican Republic's fourth largest full-service bank as measured by assets, and fourth-largest loans provider, with 10% of the market. Overall, its customer base will double in size from approximately 250,000 to 500,000. The Dominican Republic, with a population of over 10 million people, has had the fastest growing economy in Latin America for the last several years and is a priority market for Scotiabank in the Caribbean region.

Currently, Banco Dominicano del Progreso's operations in the country include 57 branches, 188 ABMs and 367 banking sub-agents that serve more than 250,000 retail and commercial customers.

Until regulatory approval is obtained and the transaction closes, all operations, branches and products will continue to operate as usual.  Scotiabank and Banco Dominicano del Progreso will work together to ensure a smooth transition for both employees and customers.

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is Canada's international bank and a leading financial services provider in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Central America, Europe 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 89,000 employees and assets of over $926 billion (as at April 30, 2018), 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.

SOURCE Scotiabank