"We are confident in our future as a leading bank in the Americas," says
President & CEO Brian Porter in his address to investors and analysts

SANTIAGO, Jan. 23, 2020 /CNW/ - Scotiabank today completed its Investor Day in Santiago, Chile. The event featured presentations from the Bank's leadership team, including President and CEO Brian Porter who addressed the investors on the Bank's growth strategy and outlook: "we are confident in our future as a leading bank in the Americas."

Mr. Porter outlined the significant efforts undertaken in recent years to strengthen the Bank, highlighting three key principles that have guided Scotiabank's efforts: the Bank's focus, its commitment to its customers, and its winning team.

Sharper focus

The Bank's six core markets represent more than 85% of Scotiabank's earnings. "We are the only bank with a significant presence in Canada, the US, Mexico, Peru, Chile and Colombia," said Mr. Porter. "These are high-quality, stable democracies with strong institutions, open economies, and – importantly – free trade agreements, which are essential to their long-term growth and prosperity."

In terms of the Bank's business mix, "Global Wealth Management is a critically important business where we are focusing on growth," said Mr. Porter. "Our recent decision to report Wealth Management as an independent business line reflects the greater breadth of our business, as well as our confidence in our ability to grow it."

Commitment to customers

Mr. Porter also spoke to the Bank's "unwavering commitment to our customers." This includes significant investments in technology that allow the Bank to better understand customers' expectations and financial goals.

"Everywhere we operate, digital and mobile banking is growing quickly," said Mr. Porter. "We aspire to be the best in this space and offer a great experience to our customers."

Building a winning team

Scotiabank has put a significant emphasis in recent years on developing strong talent, and attracting industry leaders to the Bank. "From my perspective, our team is stronger than it has ever been," said Mr. Porter. "It is well aligned and brings energy, confidence, and commitment to delivering high-quality, consistent and predictable earnings to our shareholders."

In closing, Mr. Porter told investors that "we have radically simplified the Bank's operations, removed distractions, and focused on the Americas. Today, we are a highly-competitive player in each of our core markets, with multiple avenues for growth."

Key highlights from Scotiabank's Investor Day:

• Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas
• The Bank's six "core markets" are Canada, the US, Mexico, Peru, Chile and Colombia. Scotiabank is the leading bank in the Caribbean.
• The six core markets contribute 85% of NIAT (95% including the Caribbean).
• Scotiabank has competitive scale in high growth markets with favourable operating environments for banking.
• The repositioning of the Bank's geographic footprint is "substantially complete." It has simplified and focused the Bank.
• Capital deployment is focused on share buybacks while the Bank remains well positioned for any M&A opportunities.
• Outlook for PCLs is stable. There is common risk management governance across the Bank.
• Scotiabank is focused on realizing the "digital dividend" from technology investment—a better productivity ratio and greater customer satisfaction.

Additional Information:

• Scotiabank Investor Relations

About Scotiabank
Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. We are here for every future. We help our customers, their families and their communities achieve success 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 100,000 employees and assets of over $1 trillion (as at October 31, 2019), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.

SOURCE Scotiabank