TORONTO, ON and NEW YORK, NY - February 01, 2016 /CNW/ -  Scotiabank announced today that it has acquired Citigroup's consumer and commercial banking operations in Costa Rica and Panama. The signing of these acquisitions was announced in July 2015 and the transactions are valued at approximately USD$360 million.

"These acquisitions align with our strategy to deepen relationships and increase relevance with our customers. These transactions complement our existing operations in Panama and Costa Rica," said Dieter Jentsch, Group Head of International Banking at Scotiabank.

These acquisitions triple Scotiabank's customer base in Panama and Costa Rica from approximately 137,000 to 387,000. The transactions include 21 branches, 88 ABMs and 4 service centres serving more than 250,000 consumer and commercial banking customers.

"This is a positive outcome for Citi, as well as for the employees and customers of Citi's Consumer Bank in Costa Rica and Panama. We recognize their contribution to the rich Citi heritage in these countries, and thank them for their longstanding support and partnership," said Alvaro Jaramillo, Citi Central America and Caribbean Cluster Head. "Citi has a long history in the region and we will continue to focus on providing best-in-class services to corporations, financial institutions and public sector clients in Costa Rica and Panama through Citi's unique global footprint."

Scotiabank and Citigroup will work together to ensure a smooth transition for customers and employees during the integration process, which should take 24-36 months. To comply with local legislation, the acquired entities will remain separate during the integration process and the businesses acquired from Citi will operate under the name "Scotiabank Transformándose". As a result of these transactions, customers will have access to a wider network of ABMs without additional fees and a larger variety of products and services.

About Scotiabank in Panama

• Scotiabank entered Panama in 1974 and has since grown to an operation with USD$2,700 million in assets, 16 branches and 22 ABMs.
• Scotiabank serves approximately 27,000 customers in Panama.

About Scotiabank in Costa Rica

• Scotiabank entered Costa Rica in 1995 and has since grown to an operation with USD$2,650 million in assets, 34 branches and 158 ABMs.
• Scotiabank serves approximately 110, 000 customers in Costa Rica.

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 parts of Asia. We are dedicated to helping our 23 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 approximately 90,000 employees and assets of $856 billion (as at October 31, 2015), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (TSX: BNS) and New York Exchanges (NYSE: BNS). Scotiabank distributes the Bank's media releases using CNW. For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankNews.

About Citigroup
Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @Citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://blog.citigroup.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi