By Robb M. Stewart
Bank of Nova Scotia moved to take full control of its Jamaican bank as part of a push to optimize capital and bolster the efficiency of its operations.
The bank, one of the largest in North America by assets, said it made a proposal to buy all shares it doesn't already own of Scotia Group Jamaica for about 500 million Canadian dollars, the equivalent of $359 million.
Scotiabank has operated in the Caribbean since 1889 with the opening of an office in Kingston, Jamaica, aimed at supporting growing trade. The Kingston branch was the first of any Canadian bank to open outside the U.K. or the U.S., and opened its first branch in Toronto where it now has its executive offices.
Scotia Group Jamaica is expected to hold a meeting of its minority shareholders to vote on the proposed transaction in the coming months, which would see Scotiabank Caribbean buying all the shares not already held. If approved, the deal is set to close by the end of the year, Scotiabank said.
It is expected that Scotia Group Jamaica will transition to a wholly-owned privately held entity, and its shares would be de-listed from the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
Scotiabank said it expects the impact on its closely-watched common equity Tier 1 capital ratio will be about 0.05 percentage points. The measure stood at 13.3% at the end of April, comfortably above the CET1 ratio of at least 11.5% of risk-weighted assets required by Canada's banking regulator.
The bank, which in late 2024 finalized a $2.8 billion investment in KeyCorp that gave it an almost 15% stake in the U.S. regional lender, has moved to tighten its focus on its core North American operations.
Last year the lender sold businesses in Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama to Banco Davivienda in exchange for a 20% stake in the enlarged Colombian lender.
Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 12, 2026 09:46 ET (13:46 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments