TORONTO, ON - February 18, 2014 /CNW/ - Scotiabank is pleased to announce the appointment of Guillermo E. Babatz as a new member of the Bank's Board of Directors. 

Mr. Babatz is the Managing Partner of Atik Capital, S.C., an advisory firm based in Mexico that specializes in structuring financial solutions.

Previously, he was the Executive Chairman of Mexico's "Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores" (CNBV, Mexico's National Banking and Securities Commission) from July 2007 until December 2012. As the head of this Commission, Mr. Babatz was responsible for the regulation and oversight of banks, broker-dealers, and mutual funds, among other financial intermediaries as well as the regulation and supervision of Mexico's securities markets.

He was also a member of the governing body of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and of the Technical Committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

Mr. Babatz holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University and a B.A. in Economics from Instituto Tencnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM).

"Guillermo has exceptional business, regulatory and technical expertise," said Scotiabank Chairman John Mayberry. "His experiences building a business and providing oversight in the Mexican market, combined with his international regulatory work, will bring great perspective to our discussions.

"This new addition to the Board reinforces the strong breadth and depth of experience that we bring to providing both oversight and guidance to Scotiabank as it continues to execute growth strategies based on meeting customer needs in the many markets it serves."

Scotiabank is a leading financial services provider in over 55 countries and Canada's most international bank. Through our team of more than 83,000 employees, Scotiabank and its affiliates offer a broad range of products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking to over 21 million customers. With assets of $744 billion (as at October 31, 2013), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (BNS) and New York Exchanges (BNS). Scotiabank distributes the Bank's media releases using CNW. For more information please visit www.scotiabank.com.

For media inquiries: 
Ann DeRabbie
Scotiabank Media Communications
416-933-1344
ann.derabbie@scotiabank.com