Global focus sets Scotia apart

Article Excerpt

Low interest rates continue to fuel loan demand at Canada’s big five banks. However, rising competition for new borrowers has forced all five to launch aggressive new promotions—including special mortgage rates as low as 2.99%—that are weighing on their profits. Even so, we continue to see all five banks as buys. In fact, every Canadian investor should own two or three of them. For new buying, Bank of Nova Scotia remains our favourite. It’s the most international of Canada’s banks, and it’s in a particularly strong position to profit from rising prosperity in Asia and Latin America. That cuts its reliance on slower growing regions like North America and Europe. BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $55 (Toronto symbol BNS; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.1 billion; Market cap: $60.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.2; Dividend yield: 4.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.scotiabank.com) is Canada’s third-largest bank, with assets of $637.1 billion. During the financial crisis, the bank’s revenue fell 4.9%, from $12.5 billion in…