Bank of Nova Scotia
| Morningstar Rating for Stocks | Fair Value | Economic Moat | Capital Allocation |
|---|---|---|---|
| v? | LOCK|R>WQ# | LOCK|wNxQPp |
We Expect Loan Growth in Scotiabank's International Business to Pick Up in Fiscal 2026
Business Strategy and Outlook
Bank of Nova Scotia is the third-largest Canadian-based bank by assets. It is known as Canada’s most international bank as it derives a little over half of its revenue from Canada, over 40% from international operations (primarily Latin America), and a high single-digit percentage from the US. Scotiabank’s Latin America exposure gives the bank the potential for higher growth and return opportunities compared with peers, but it also exposes the bank to more risks as we've seen during the pandemic. The bank has been reworking its Latin America footprint, reducing exposure that are less favorable and also aiming to achieve larger scale in some countries. We would like to see Scotiabank achieving better risk-adjusted margins in these markets as credit costs often weigh on the bank’s total returns. We expect more loan growth in 2026 as the bank has mostly finished its international optimization in 2025.
