TORONTO, ON - October 15, 2015 /CNW/ - The Bank of Nova Scotia ("Scotiabank") and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. ("JPMorgan Chase") announced today that the two companies have reached an agreement under which Scotiabank will acquire a MasterCard and private label credit card portfolio and the related credit card operations from JPMorgan Chase. The terms of the transaction are not financially material to Scotiabank or JPMorgan Chase. Scotiabank's common equity tier one capital ratio will be impacted by less than 10 basis points, primarily from the acquired assets. The acquisition will be accretive to Scotiabank's earnings in year one. This agreement is subject to regulatory approval.

The credit card portfolio includes approximately $1.7 Billion in receivables and 2 million well-performing active customer accounts. The agreement also includes the acquisition of JPMorgan Chase's credit card operations in Canada. These operations include a highly-skilled bilingual call centre in Ottawa with fraud, collections, recovery and customer service expertise.

"This transaction is in line with our strategy to grow Scotiabank's payments business, including credit cards, while providing our shareholders with attractive risk adjusted returns," said James O'Sullivan, Group Head of Canadian Banking at Scotiabank. "Upon closing of the transaction, Scotiabank will become the first bank in Canada to offer customers Visa, AMEX and now, MasterCard credit cards."

"This agreement enables JPMorgan Chase to streamline its operations in Canada while providing our customers with the opportunity to migrate to and be serviced by Scotiabank's global consumer footprint," said Martin Parizeau, CEO, Canada Card Services at JPMorgan Chase.

The JPMorgan Chase credit card portfolio being acquired is a MasterCard and private label credit card portfolio, currently associated with Sears Canada Inc. As previously communicated by JPMorgan Chase, the agreement with Sears Canada comes to an end on November 15, 2015. Scotiabank is committed to ensuring a smooth transition for all 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, and parts of Asia. We are dedicated to helping our 21 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 87,000 employees and assets of $863 billion (as at July 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 JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.4 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.