THE BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA

The Bank of Nova Scotia. Commonly known as Scotia bank (French: Banque Scotia), is the third largest bank in Canada by deposits and market capitalization. It serves some 19 million customers in more than 55 countries around the world and offers a broad range of products and services including personal, commercial, and corporate and investment banking. With assets above $575 billion, Scotia bank shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges. The bank was incorporated by the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia on March 30, 1831, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with William Lawson (17721848) serving as the first president. The bank moved its executive offices to Toronto, Ontario, in March 1900. Scotia bank has billed itself as "Canada's International Bank" due to its acquisitions primarily in Latin America and the Caribbean, but also in Europe and India as well. BNS Institution Number (or bank number) is 002. The company ranked at number 92 on the Forbes Global 2000 listing in 2012 and is currently under the leadership of Richard E. Waugh who serves both in the capacity of President and CEO.

HISTORY

 Scotia bank was founded in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1832 under the name of the Bank of Nova Scotia. The bank's vision was to facilitate the trans-Atlantic trade of the time. Later, in 1833, Bank of Nova Scotia acquired The Union Bank of Prince Edward Island, although most of the bank's expansion efforts in the century took the form of branch openings. The bank launched its branch banking system by opening in Windsor, Nova Scotia. The expansion was limited to the Maritimes until 1882, when the bank moved west by opening a branch in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Manitoba branch later closed but the bank continued to expand into the American Midwest. This included opening a branch in Minneapolis in 1885 which later transferred to Chicago in 1892. Following the collapse of the Newfoundland Bank of Commerce and Union Bank of Newfoundland on December 10, 1894; the Bank of Nova Scotia established on January 31, 1895, in Newfoundland. In 1899, the bank opened a branch in Boston, Massachusetts. In the meantime, the bank opened a branch in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1889 to facilitate the trading of sugar, rum and fish. This was Scotia banks first move into the Caribbean and historically the first branch of a Canadian bank opened outside of the United States or the United Kingdom. By the end of the 19th century, the bank was represented in all of the Maritimes, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba. In 1900, the bank's headquarters were moved to Toronto, Ontario.

1906 The bank opened a branch in Havana, Cuba. By 1931, it had three branches in Havana, and one branch each in Camagey, Cienfuegos, Manzanillo, and Santiago de Cuba. The bank was

nationalized in 1959, becoming Banco Central de Cuba (Havana branch was changed to Banco Metropolitano Metropolitan Bank in 1996).

1907 The bank opened an agency in New York. 1910 The bank opened a branch in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and later another one in Fajardo. 1912 Bank of Nova Scotia merged with the Bank of New Brunswick. 1914 Toronto-based Metropolitan Bank was acquired, making Scotia bank the fourth largest financial institution in Canada. 1919 Bank of Ottawa was amalgamated. 1920 The bank opened a branch in London, UK, and another one in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. 1960 Fidel Castro's Cuban government purchased the Cuban branches of the Bank of Nova Scotia on December 1, 1960. 1962 The bank became the first Canadian Bank to appoint women bank managers on January 15, 1962. 1978 The bank and Canadian Union of Public Employees signed the first collective agreement between a Canadian bank and a union on September 28, 1978, in Toronto. 1981 The bank expanded into Asia with the opening of a branch in Japan. 2000 Scotiabank's stake in Mexican bank Grupo Financiero Inverlat is increased to 55 percent. The Mexican bank is subsequently renamed to Grupo Financiero Scotia bank Inverlat. 2003 -The bank's Guangzhou Branch was awarded the first licence to a Canadian bank by the Chinese government to deal in Chinese currency. 20032004 The bank acquired Inverlat banking house in Mexico, taking over all of its branches and establishing strong presence in the country. 2010 The bank arrived in Bogot.

Scotia bank branch on Highway 7, Hastings, Christ Church, Barbados.

In its early expansion, the bank clearly followed trade and its customers' businesses rather than pursuing a strategy of expansion into international financial centres. Scotia bank is a member of the Global ATM Alliance, a joint venture of several major international banks that allows customers of the banks to use their ATM cards or check cards at certain other banks within the Global ATM Alliance without fees when traveling internationally. Other participating banks are Barclays (United Kingdom), Bank of America (United States), BNP Paribas (France and Ukraine through UkrSibbank), Deutsche Bank (Germany), and Westpac (Australia and New Zealand).

Portfolio evolution
Throughout the 20th century, the bank grew not only in size, but also in breadth of products and services. Progress was conditioned by changing consumer needs, legal changes, or acquisitions of external service providers. A short [7] list follows: 1954 Passage of the National Housing Act lead Scotia bank to create a mortgage department. 1958 Changes to Bank Act of 1954 enabled Scotia bank to introduce a consumer credit program. 1987 Scotia Securities is formed to provide discount brokerage and security underwriting services. 1988 Brokerage firm McLeod Young Weir Ltd. is acquired. 1994 Scotia bank acquires Montreal Trust co Inc. 1997 National Trust co Inc. is acquired for C$1.25 billion.

Mergers and Acquisitions

The bank has amalgamated with several other Canadian financial institutions through the years, and purchased several other banks overseas. Bank Union Bank of PEI Summerside Bank Bank of New Brunswick Metropolitan Bank of Canada The Bank of Ottawa Montreal Trust National Trust Inverlat (Mexico) National Bank of Greece (Canada) Banco Wiesse Sudameris (Peru) Banco Sudamericano (Peru) E*TRADE Canada DundeeWealth Year established Year of amalgamation 1864 1863 1820 1902 1874 1889 1898 2002 1969 1920 1991 1982 1998 1883 1901 1913 1914 1919 1994 1997 2003 2005 2007 2007 2008 2010

Operating units

Scotia Plaza, Scotia bank World Headquarters in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Scotia bank has four divisions: Canadian Banking is the commercial banking division, offering savings and loan services. It includes 1009 branches, 2,750 ABMs, and four call centers in Calgary, Toronto, Cornwall, and Halifax. It offers telephone, wireless and Internet banking. Their brokerage unit is called the Wealth Management Group. ScotiaMcLeod is the full-service Canadian investment dealer and was formerly known as McLeod Young Weir Co. & Ltd., a company started by four young entrepreneurs: Donald Ivan McLeod, William Ewart Young, James Gordon Weir, and John Henry Ratcliffe. Global Banking and Markets (GBM) is the investment banking division, which helps large corporations, institutions, and governments obtain capital and credit. International Banking is the merchant banking division, assisting its customers with international trade. Scotia banks marketing material claims it is the leading provider of financial services in the Caribbean, and that it has the broadest Asian network of any Canadian bank. e-Commerce/e-Banking at Scotia bank manages wire transfers and payments.

Scotia bank sells insurance products via its brand subsidiary ScotiaLife Financial. Most of the life insurance [10] policies sold this way are underwritten by Scotia Life Insurance Company. As of 2009, Scotia bank services over 12.5 million customers and has over $500 billion in assets. The bank employs over 69,000 employees all over the globe including: Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Scotia bank is Canada's most international bank with over 2,000 branches in some 50 countries. As in the past,

in 2009 some of the top management at Scotia bank announced a plan that the bank would once again play a [11] part in general infrastructural development in the countries where it operates.

Corporate sponsorship and branding

[edit]Sports Scotia bank is now the title sponsor of Guadalajara's Scotiabank Aquatics Center Scotia bank is now the title sponsor for the Jewish National Fund's "Pitch for Israel" event. Scotia bank is now the title sponsor of Calgary's Scotia bank as of October 8, 2010 Scotia bank currently is the title sponsor for running events that are part of the Canada Running Series: Scotia bank Montreal 21k & 5k (April), Vancouver Half-Marathon & 5k Run/Walk (June) & Toronto [12] Waterfront Marathon, Half-Marathon & 5k (September) and the Scotia bank Bluenose Marathon. As well it is the title sponsor for the Scotia bank Calgary Marathon. As of October 2007, Scotia bank became a sponsor of CBC Television's Hockey Night in Canada, and the [13] title sponsor of its Gemini award winning pregame show, Scotia bank Hockey Tonight. Scotia bank also is currently the Official Bank of the National Hockey League and National Hockey League [14] Players' Association. And the official bank of the NHLPA, the NHL Alumni, the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Additionally, Scotia bank sponsors the Little NHL (native hockey league) and several girl's hockey festivals across Canada. Currently has the naming rights to the arena of the Ottawa Senators, branding it Scotia bank. Scotia bank can be seen as a primary sponsor for Champion Boxer Miguel Cotto during his 2009 bout with Manny Pacquiao In 2006 Scotia bank was awarded the title as the official bank for the ICC's 2007 Cricket World Cup. During the event, several stadia and venues across the Caribbean (and Guyana in South America) are to become [15] outfited with Scotia bank automated banking machines. Since 2005, Scotia bank has been the title sponsor of the CFL playoffs semi-final and conference final games, with games titled as the Scotia bank East Semi-Finals and Scotia bank West Semi-Finals. This is in addition to being the official financial services provider to the Canadian Football League. Since 2008, Scotia bank has been the official team sponsor of Canadian Cricket Team and the title sponsor of National T20 Championship in Canada. In 2010, Scotia bank was a sponsor of the World Rally Championship's Corona Rally Mexico.

[edit]Culture In 2007, Scotia bank and Cineplex Entertainment partnered up to create a loyalty rewards program called SCENE. The program allows patrons to sign-up for a special card that grants them points which can be redeemed for free movies or concession discounts. Scotia bank customers can also request for a SCENE debit card which gives them points when used. A SCENE VISA card was also launched in early [16] May. In addition, 5 Cineplex Entertainment locations were rebranded as "Scotia bank Theatres". From 2007 to 2010, Scotia bank has been the title sponsor of the Scotia bank Nuit Blanche event in Toronto. [5] Title sponsor, Scotia bank Giller Prize.
[17]

Scotia bank Hall of Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario. Scotia bank Hall in the Marion McCain Arts and Social Sciences Building at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia In 2011, Scotia bank became the title sponsor of Toronto's Caribana now known as the Scotia bank.

[edit]Recent

events

On November 6, 2006, two homemade bombs were placed within Scotia bank branches in Mexico City. One exploded, resulting in no deaths, while a second bomb was de-activated. Authorities were previously alerted to the presence of the bombs. A coalition of five leftist guerilla groups which support (but had no known [18] connections to) protests in Oaxaca claimed responsibility. In December 2006, Scotia bank announced it successfully acquired majority control of the fourth largest Jamaica-based Securities dealer Dehring Bunting & Golding Ltd. (DB&G) ending weeks of speculation about the bid on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. The deal is expected to cost the Bank of Nova [19][20][21][22] Scotia and its Jamaican subsidiary between C$80 $90 million to close the deal. On August 31, 2007, Scotia bank announced it has signed agreements to purchase 79 per cent of Banco del Desarrollo, Chile's seventh largest bank for US$810 million. These agreements are the first stage in a plan to purchase up to 100 per cent of Banco del Desarrollo. Scotia bank will be making a public share offering on the same terms and expects to acquire up to 100 per cent of Banco del Desarrollo, which would be valued at US$1.03 billion. In July 2008, E*TRADE sold its Canadian division to Scotia bank for CAN$444 million, as part of a program [23][24] of selling off non-core assets. Scotia bank is investigating the expansion of the E*Trade service to their [25] Caribbean markets as well. In October 2008, Scotia bank was considered one of the front-runners to buy Cleveland-based National City Corp. and re-enter the United States market, alongside Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial [26][27] Services and Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp. Many local citizens in Cleveland considered Scotia bank as the best option, due to their longstanding absence from the U.S. market, which would've allowed most of National City's operations to stay in Cleveland. Scotia bank, however, backed out of the deal, and PNC would acquire National City with TARP funds on October 24, 2008 after National City became a victim of the subprime mortgage crisis. In 2010 a panel for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) ruled that Scotia bank as the sponsors of the Caribana festival, did not have grounds for being awarded the domain name caribana.com [28] from its current owners Working Word Co-operative. In 2010, Scotia bank acquired the assets of R & G Financial Corporation, a failed Puerto Rican bank. Soon after Canadian regulators gave the go ahead for Canadian banks to begin mergers and acquisitions, Scotia bank announced it would takeover Commerzbank AG's Brazilian wholesale banking unit. This information was released on September 16, 2010. Scotia bank announced on September 27, 2010, that they would be purchasing Royal Bank of Scotland's Chilean wholesale banking unit worth around $900 million in assets. On December 2010, Scotia bank continues to expand its presence in Latin America acquiring the Uruguayan Nuevo Banco Comercial, becoming the first Canadian bank with presence in the [29][30] country On October 20, 2011, Scotia bank acquired a 51% stake in Banco Colpatria, Colombia's fifth largest bank and second largest issuer of credit cards for the tune of 1 billion Canadian in Cash and stock (10 million shares). It is the second largest foreign transaction ever by a Canadian financial company overseas, [31] behind Royal Bank of Canada's purchase in Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago.

[edit]Awards 2005 "Bank of the Year" For Mexico, the Caribbean and in Jamaica by LatinFinance.
[32]

2007 "Bank of the Year" The Banker Magazine London England, Scotia bank Trinidad and Tobago, Scotia bank Belize, Scotia bank Turks and Caicos

2008 "Bank of the Year" The Banker Magazine London England, Scotia bank Barbados, Scotia bank Trinidad and Tobago, Scotia bank Guyana, Scotia bank Turks and Caicos 2009 "Bank of the Year" The Banker Magazine London England, Scotia bank Canada, Scotia bank Barbados,Scotiabank Dominican Republic, Scotia bank Trinidad and Tobago, Scotia bank Turks and Caicos 2010 "Bank of the Year" The Banker Magazine London England, Scotia bank Barbados, Scotia bank Trinidad and Tobago, Scotia bank Turks and Caicos 2011 "Best Emerging Market Bank" Global Finance Magazine New York, Scotia bank Jamaica, Scotia bank Barbados, Scotia bank Costa Rica, Scotia bank Turks and Caicos

[edit]Corporate

governance
[33]

Current members of the board of directors of Scotia bank are: Ronald A. Bronfman, C.J. Chen, N. Ashleigh Everett, John Kerr, Michael Kirby, Laurent Lemaitre, John T. Mayberry, Thomas O'Neill, Elizabeth ParrJohnston, Alexis Tovar de la Torre, Indira Samarasekera, Arthur Scace, Allan Shaw, Paul Sobey, Barbara Thomas, and Richard E. Waugh. Former members of the board include: Peter Godsoe (former President and CEO of Scotiabank) and Cedric Ritchie (Former Chairman). [edit]Unionization Scotiabank has unionized relationships with employees in a number of locations around the world. the sole unionized workplace is the domestic banking branch in Deep River, Ontario. [edit]Membership BNS is a member of the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) and registered member with the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC), a federal agency insuring deposits at all of Canada's chartered banks. It is also a member of: Interac VISA International MasterCard in the Caribbean markets Plus Network for VISA card users NYCE ATM Network CarIFS ATM Network LINX network ATM network MultiLink Network ATM network MAGNA Rewards as part of the Scotiabank MAGNA MasterCard. Global ATM Alliance
[34]

In Canada,

[edit]Branch

locations

Canada All provinces Northwest Territories Yukon

International

Anguilla Antigua & Barbuda Aruba Australia Bahamas Barbados Belize Brazil British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Chile Colombia China Costa Rica Dominica Dominican Republic Egypt El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Guyana Haiti Hong Kong India Ireland Jamaica Japan Republic of Korea Malaysia Mexico Netherlands Antilles Panama Peru Puerto Rico St Maarten Saint Lucia Singapore Taiwan Thailand Trinidad & Tobago Turkey Turks & Caicos US Virgin Islands U.K

Venezuela Vietnam

www.fundinguniverse.com The Bank of Nova Scotia History

Address: Scotia Plaza 44 King Street West Toronto, Ontario M5H 1H1 Canada

Telephone: (416) 866-6161 Fax: (416) 866-3750 Website: www.scotiabank.com Public Company Incorporated: 1832 Employees: 43,869 Total Assets: C$282.16 billion (US$200.48 billion) (2003) Stock Exchanges: Toronto New York London Ticker Symbol: BNS NAIC: 551111 Offices of Bank Holding Companies; 522110 Commercial Banking; 522210 Credit Card Issuing; 523110 Investment Banking and Securities Dealing; 523120 Securities Brokerage; 523920 Portfolio Management; 523930 Investment Advice; 523991 Trust, Fiduciary, and Custody Activities; 525910 Open-End Investment Funds

Company Perspectives:
Since welcoming our first customers in 1832, Scotiabank has enjoyed continued success by building on traditional core strengths--risk management, cost control, diversification, customer satisfaction and great employees. Our goal is to be the best and most successful Canadian-based international financial services group.

Key Dates:
1832: The Bank of Nova Scotia (or Scotiabank) is born; it is the first public financial institution in Halifax. 1883: The Union Bank of Prince Edward Island is acquired. 1889: Scotiabank makes its first move into the Caribbean, opening a branch in Kingston, Jamaica. 1900: Headquarters are moved to Toronto. 1912: Bank of Nova Scotia merges with the Bank of New Brunswick, the oldest Canadian chartered bank. 1914: Toronto-based Metropolitan Bank is acquired, making Scotiabank the fourth largest financial institution in Canada. 1919: The Bank of Ottawa is acquired. 1954: Passage of the National Housing Act leads Scotiabank to create a mortgage department. 1958: Changes to Bank Act of 1954 enable Scotiabank to introduce a consumer credit program. 1981: Bank of Nova Scotia expands into Asia with the opening of a branch in Japan. 1987: Scotia Securities is formed to provide discount brokerage and security underwriting services. 1988: Brokerage firm McLeod Young Weir Ltd. is acquired. 1994: Scotiabank acquires Montreal Trustco Inc. 1997: National Trustco Inc. is acquired for C$1.25 billion. 2000: Scotiabank increases to 55 percent its stake in Mexican bank Grupo Financiero Inverlat, which is subsequently renamed Grupo Financiero Scotiabank Inverlat. 2002: Economic turmoil in Argentina leads to the bank's sale of its subsidiary there and a C$540 million writedown on its investment. 2003: Stake in Scotiabank Inverlat is increased to 91 percent.

Products and Services

Financing Solutions Work with us to find the financing solutions that are right for your business. Trading Internationally Facilitate international trade and mitigate your business risk. Banking & Investing Choose from business chequing, savings and foreign savings accounts, as well as term deposits. Cash Management & Merchant Services Enhance working capital, improve information flow and simplify administration.

Type

Public company

Traded as

TSX: BNS NYSE: BNS TTSE: SBTT

Industry

Financial services

Founded

1832 Halifax, Nova Scotia

Headquarters

Toronto, Ontario.

Key people

Richard E. Waugh (CEO) Sabi S. Marwah (COO) Sean McGuckin (CFO)

Revenue

$17.58 billion CAD (2011)

Net income

$5.27 billion CAD (2011)

Total assets

$660 billion CAD (2012)

Employees

80,000 (2012)

Website

scotiabank.com

2011 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Return on equity 18.8% Target: 16-20% Tier 1 capital ratio 12.2% Target: maintain sound capital ratios Productivity ratio 54.4% Target: less than 58% Earnings per share growth (diluted) 18% Target: 7-12% Scotiabank is a leading multinational inancial services provider and Canadas most international bank. Through our team of more than 75,000 employees, Scotiabank and its afiliates offer a broad range of products and services, including personal, commercial, corporate and investment banking to over 19 million customers in more than 55 countries. Total net income $ 5,268 million Scotiabanks strength is evident in the solid results for 2011. 2 Message from President and CEO Rick Waugh 6 Scotiabank Executive Management team

8 Message from Chairman of the Board John T. Mayberry 9 Corporate Governance 10 Board of Directors 12 Focusing on Scotiabanks ive-point strategy 22 MD&A at a glance and message from Executive Vice-President and CFO Luc Vanneste 24 Managements Discussion and Analysis 108 Managements Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting 108 Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 109 Consolidated Financial Statements 110 Managements responsibility for inancial information 175 Shareholder information 176 Glossary 177 Basel II glossary Corporate social responsibility (see inside back cover) Contents 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 Operating results ($ millions) Net income 5,268 4,339 3,661 3,259 4,163 Operating performance

Diluted earnings per share ($) 4.62 3.91 3.31 3.05 4.01 Return on equity (%) 18.8 18.3 16.7 16.7 22.0 Productivity ratio (%) (TEB) 54.4 51.8 53.7 59.4 53.7 Balance sheet information ($ billions) Total assets 575.3 526.7 496.5 507.6 411.5 Capital measures Tier 1 capital ratio (%) 12.2 11.8 10.7 9.3 9.3 Tangible common equity to risk-weighted assets (%) 9.6 9.7 8.3 6.6 7.4 Common share information Annual shareholder return (%) (0.4) 25.7 18.8 (21.6) 12.2 10-year compound annual return (%) 13.1 13.1 14.2 13.1 16.5 Market capitalization ($ millions) 57,204 57,016 46,379 39, 865 52,612 Dividends per share ($) 2.05 1.96 1.96 1.92 1.74 Dividend yield (%) 3.7 3.9 5.4 4.3 3.4 Book value per common share ($) 26.06 22.68 20.55 18.94 17.45 Price to earnings multiple 11.3 14.0 13.6 13.1 13.2

Scotiabank is committed to providing access to education, resources and advice that enable individuals to make knowledgeable, responsible financial decisions, while giving them the confidence they need to save and invest for a bright future. Ways in which we are contributing to financial literacy:

The Bank is committed to providing easy-to-understand banking information to help people make the right choices for their financial needs. We aim to ensure that our retail products, materials and forms, including mortgage documents, are written in plain language. In line with recent legislative changes aimed at improving the financial literacy of Canadians, Scotiabank has enhanced both the initial and subsequent disclosures made to credit card Cardholders with respect to interest rates, fees and credit limits, and the time required to retire the debt in the event that only minimum payments may be made. Scotiabank has also been a strong supporter of the Canadian Government's Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA). We were the first major bank to offer TFSAs and since then, have continuously helped educate Canadians on the features and benefits of the account. For instance the Bank has created an interactive online TFSA Customer Information Centre. Also, the Bank continues to support the financial health of Canadians through our focus on establishing and sustaining savings habits. In 2010, Scotiabank introduced the Let the Saving Begin Program to re-establish the importance of saving regularly toward short and long-term goals. Our Five Year Savings Plan, for example, aims to overcome the notion that saving is difficult or unaffordable. Through this program, we will help customers articulate their goals and begin saving. Our Bank The Rest Savings program offers consumers an easy way to maintain their saving habits. The first of its kind in Canada, it allows customers to save every time they use a debit card to make a purchase. Transactions are rounded up to the next dollar or five

dollars, with the difference deposited automatically to a savings account. In 2010, Scotiabank extended Bank The Rest to Tax Free Savings Accounts, once again supporting government efforts to increase awareness of TFSAs. In July 2011, Scotiabank introduced the ScotiaMoneybackTM Account, an industry-leading product that enables customers to earn cash rewards on debit card purchases. Scotiabank hosts the Find the Money website to provide the public with information on ways to get the upper hand on their finances. In 2011, many Canadian branches gave seminars through the Your Money Program in their communities on topics ranging from home buying and renovations to educational savings and financial planning. As well more than 19 Scotiabankers conducted 61 youth-oriented money seminars to 1,823 students across Canada during the 20102011 school year. Scotiabank Mexico supports financial literacy among youth through sponsorship of the popular Aflatoun Program with Fundacin EDUCA. So far, 376 students and 26 teachers have benefited from this program. The Bank also supports the Jornada Nacional de Ahorro Infantil, where 30 Scotiabankers from the Queretaro branch went to 26 schools to offer financial literacy seminars to children. In Puerto Rico, the Bank supports organizations that provide financial education and entrepreneurial workshops to both youth and adults. All of Scotiabank's microfinance operations also provide free financial literacy programs to clients and non-clients designed to help strengthen basic business and finance management competencies. Since 2009, Scotiabank El Salvador has joined forces with Empresarios Juveniles, a member of Junior Achievement Worldwide and, in 2010, the Bank increased its role in financial literacy by growing its involvement with Nuestra Ciudad. Through this program, youth aged seven to 11 years gain exposure to financial education and entrepreneurial skills in public schools in the country's highest-risk communities. In 2011, some 7,296 children from 63 schools participated. In 2011, Scotiabank El Salvador started working on the financial literacy program Aflatoun with PLAN El Salvador in school in poor neighbourhoods. Starting in 2012, employees will begin volunteering activities as part of this program. Scotiabank employees in Anguilla, USVI and Turks & Caicos speak to students in local schools about financial literacy and education. In Dominican Republic, Scotiabank supports the Mercado Global Program. In the 2011 school year, about 650 youth in Santo Domingo, Santiago, La Romana y San Cristbal received training and information on personal finance and international commerce. Scotiabank British Virgin Islands is a member of the BVI Bank Association and has partnered with the local regulator Financial Literacy Coordinator to host seminars and develop financial literature for the BVI community.

Acces to

Part of helping people become financially better off is making sure they are able to access banking services. Scotiabank is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to banking services, including a basic transactional account, at a minimal cost. Scotiabank also makes significant efforts to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities. We provide training to employees on these issues and straightforward account information to customers, so they can easily understand how to open a personal deposit account and manage their banking needs.

Online banking

Scotiabank has improved access for customers opening an account from their homes (either by telephone or online), and now has more than 1.6 million online users in Canada. Our Online banking services offered in the Caribbean and Central America meet the highest accessibility standards for customers with motor or visual impairments.

Low-cost banking

In Canada, Scotiabank's Basic Banking account costs just $3.95 per month. No minimum deposit or proof of employment is required. Information needed to open a personal deposit account or cash a federal government cheque up to $1,500 (free for customers and non-customers) is available in the brochure "Day-to-Day Banking, Opening a

Personal Deposit Account or Cashing a Federal Government Cheque at Scotiabank/Cheque Holding Policy". The brochure is on display in branches and on Scotiabank.com In Jamaica, Scotiabank offers the QuickPay service to assist low-income workers who may not meet requirements to open a banking account. Employers can pay salaries electronically to employees, who receive a debit card to access their earnings. Scotiabank is proud to be a founding member of the Global ATM Alliance, along with Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Barclays, Deutsche Bank 24 and Westpac. When withdrawing cash at certain member Bank ATMs, you pay no surcharges or access fees.

Physical accessibility

All new Scotiabank branches and facilities in Canada that have undergone major renovations since 2003 meet or exceed the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) accessibility guidelines. We continue to replace ABMs with units that give customers in wheelchairs better access to the card reader, keypad, passbook printer, screen and transaction receipt slot. The new machines incorporate larger, high-resolution and anti-glare colour screens. New ABM installations where 2 or more ABMs are installed, have a minimum of one machine with forward approach accessibility. The heights of all machine functions are as per CSA accessibility guidelines being side access and/or front access.

New ABMs have features, such as grab bars with contrasting colour and screen LED lights, that help direct customers to the transaction they have chosen. We continue to work closely with a number of vendors to develop hardware and software solutions to enhance accessibility. Scotiabank El Salvador has renovated all of its branches to include parking and ramps for customers in wheelchairs. As well, 88% of branches in El Salvador have special access tellers for customers in wheelchairs.

Senior citizens

Customers aged 59 or over can request to enrol in the Scotia Plus Program, a no-fee banking plan with unlimited free debit transactions, and other free or discounted services on eligible accounts. Many of Scotiabank's international locations, such as Barbados, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Puerto Rico, provide low-cost banking services for seniors in their communities.