Topic: How To Invest

The Successful Investor Hotline – Friday, January 10, 2025

Article Excerpt

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA, $74.10, Toronto symbol BNS, is still a buy. The bank recently announced that it was shifting its business away from poorly performing Latin American markets. As a result, it now plans to earmark 90% of its capital to its main markets of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Under that plan, Bank of Nova Scotia has agreed to transfer its banking operations in Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama to banking firm Davivienda. In return, the bank will receive a 20% equity stake in Davivienda, which has 24.6 million clients in Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras and Panama, as well as Miami, Florida. As a result of the transaction, Bank of Nova Scotia will write down the value of these holdings by $1.4 billion. It also expects foreign currency charges of $300 million. To put those items in context, it earned $1.95 billion, or $1.57 a share, in its fiscal 2024 fourth quarter ended October 31, 2024. Bank of Nova Scotia expects…