TORONTO, Dec. 1, 2025 /CNW/ - Scotiabank and Davivienda announced today the closing of the previously announced transaction to transfer Scotiabank's banking operations in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama to Davivienda. The combined operations of both institutions will operate under a new holding company, Davivienda Group.

As previously announced on January 6, 2025, Scotiabank entered into an agreement with Davivienda providing for the transfer of the above referenced operations in exchange for an approximate 20% ownership stake in Davivienda Group.

Davivienda Group will leverage Scotiabank's global experience and Davivienda's local expertise in the region, built on a differentiated client approach and innovation. As part of the integration, Davivienda Group will introduce a transitional brand, DAVIbank, for Scotiabank's former operations in Colombia and Costa Rica. In Panama, they will operate under the Davivienda brand.

"Reaching this milestone is key to delivering on our International Banking strategy as we are now at scale in all markets in which we operate in the region, supporting continued improvement in our profitability across our international footprint," said Scott Thomson, President and CEO of Scotiabank. "The transaction provides Scotiabank with the opportunity to participate in a business with a proven management team that will be well-positioned to become a leading franchise through increased scale, synergies, and an expanded client base."

Scotiabank and Davivienda will collaborate to strengthen their combined global reach, which will allow Davivienda to increase its international product offering as an important regional player and Scotiabank to continue to support Corporate, Wealth and Global Banking and Markets clients with its services across Davivienda's footprint.

"The closing of this transaction is a significant milestone in bringing together complementary capabilities, scale, and expertise to unlock the full potential of our combined value proposition," said Francisco Aristeguieta, Group Head, International and Global Transaction Banking. "This agreement reflects Scotiabank and Davivienda's shared culture, and positions both institutions to deliver innovative solutions and create long-term value for clients across the region."

"We are very excited about formalizing this strategic partnership with Scotiabank," said Javier Suárez, CEO of Davivienda Group. "This transaction marks a powerful step forward, positioning us to unlock new opportunities for business development. By leveraging Scotiabank's extensive global capabilities and Davivienda's deep regional expertise across Colombia and Central America, we are positioned to deliver enhanced value for our stakeholders, scale our operations, and drive business growth."

The Bank is expected to record a loss in Q1 2026 of approximately CAD $300 million after-tax in the Other segment, primarily relating to the release of cumulative foreign currency translation losses, net of hedges.

Scotiabank's investment in Davivienda will be recorded as an investment in associate for accounting purposes. The CET1 ratio for Q1 2026 is expected to benefit by an approximate 10 basis points, primarily from the reduction in risk-weighted assets net of the Davivienda investment.

About Scotiabank
Scotiabank's vision is to be our clients' most trusted financial partner and deliver sustainable, profitable growth. Guided by our purpose: "for every future," we help our clients, 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 assets of approximately $1.4 trillion (as at July 31, 2025), Scotiabank is one of the largest banks in North America by assets, and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com and follow us on X @Scotiabank.

Forward-looking statements
From time to time, our public communications include oral or written forward-looking statements. Statements of this type are included in this document, and may be included in other filings with Canadian securities regulators or the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), or in other communications. In addition, representatives of the Bank may include forward-looking statements orally to analysts, investors, the media and others. All such statements are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and any applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements made in this document, the Management's Discussion and Analysis in the Bank's 2024 Annual Report under the headings "Outlook" and in other statements regarding the Bank's objectives, strategies to achieve those objectives, the regulatory environment in which the Bank operates, anticipated financial results, and the outlook for the Bank's businesses and for the Canadian, U.S. and global economies. Such statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as "believe," "expect," "aim," "achieve," "foresee," "forecast," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "outlook," "seek,"  "schedule," "plan," "goal," "strive," "target," "project," "commit," "objective," and similar expressions of future or conditional verbs, such as "will," "may," "should," "would," "might," "can" and "could" and positive and negative variations thereof.

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SOURCE Scotiabank