TORONTO, Dec. 2, 2022 /CNW/ - Scotiabank announced today that it has been named Bank of the Year in Canada by The Banker magazine and has also received The Banker's global award for Banking in the Community. This is the fourth consecutive year that Scotiabank has received the Bank of the Year in Canada award from the Financial Times-owned publication and follows the Bank's recognition as Investment Bank of the Year for the Americas earlier this year.

"We are very pleased that Scotiabank has been recognized by The Banker for the fourth year in a row for our longstanding commitment to delivering for our customers and clients and offering them a best-in-class banking experience," said Brian Porter, Chief Executive Officer at Scotiabank. "Our team continues to put our customers first as we introduce new services, products and tools to help them manage through these challenging times. We are also exceedingly proud that our ScotiaRISE program has been recognized for the real and positive impact it is having on the communities we serve. Congratulations to our winning team of Scotiabankers on these well-deserved recognitions."

Notable highlights from this year's recognition include:

• The launch and expansion of the Scene+™ loyalty program, which brings together SCENE® and Scotia Rewards®. With Scotiabank, Cineplex and Empire Company Limited as co-owners, Scene+ offers a uniquely flexible loyalty program for Canadians, giving them options to earn and redeem points on nearly all their daily purchases, including groceries, entertainment, travel and many others.
• Scotia Smart Investor, the Bank's digital-assisted investment advice platform, which features an intuitive and simplified goal-planning experience, curated solution recommendations to customers and personalized insights and investment performance tracking. It creates a streamlined approach to onboarding, planning, fulfillment and tracking of investors' goals and priorities, wrapped in a single account for Term Deposits, Savings & Mutual Funds.
• The Scotiabank Women Initiative® continues to grow, providing unbiased access to capital and tailored solutions, specialized education, advisory services, and mentorship to more women across the Americas—helping them to succeed in business, in their careers, and in managing their wealth. This year, the Bank increased its commitment to deploy capital to women-owned and women-led businesses in Canada to $10 billion by 2025 and has deployed $5.6 billion to date. The program also launched in Chile, Jamaica, and Costa Rica—with plans to expand across most of the Bank's footprint by 2025.
• Scotiabank's environmental, social, and governance (ESG) progress, outlined in its 2021 ESG Report, continues to drive positive change against four key pillars — Environmental Action, Economic Resilience, Inclusive Society, and Leadership & Governance. The Bank's Sustainable Finance Group has also grown significantly since its inception in 2020 and is an industry leader in developing innovative sustainable financing and ESG advisory solutions to support the Bank's diversified global presence.

Scotiabank was also recognized for Bank of the Year in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Turks & Caicos.

The Banker also recognized Scotiabank with the global Banking in the Community 2022 award for its commitment to drive meaningful impact in the communities it serves through ScotiaRISE— the Bank's 10-year, $500-million community investment program to strengthen economic resilience among disadvantaged groups.

"Through our partnerships with organizations across our Bank's global footprint, we are providing disadvantaged individuals, families and communities with the support they need to become economically resilient, overcome barriers, and participate more fully in the economy," said Meigan Terry, Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability, Social Impact, and Communications Officer at Scotiabank. "We're proud that the ScotiaRISE program has been recognized for its innovation in enriching and improving the societies in which we operate."

Scotiabank launched ScotiaRISE in January 2021 with a mission to strengthen economic inclusion and resilience across communities with a particular focus on disadvantaged groups. ScotiaRISE invests in partnerships and programs within three priority focus areas—increasing high school graduation and post-secondary participation; helping newcomers settle in new countries and feel at home faster; and assisting those facing barriers to employment with career development or career progression.

To date, ScotiaRISE has supported more than 200 community partners and provided more than $60 million in community investments globally.

Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by our purpose: "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 over 90,000 employees and assets of over $1.3 trillion (as at October 31, 2022), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit http://www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @Scotiabank.

SOURCE Scotiabank