Scotiabank Investors See Citi’s Mexican Unit as Good Fit

Shareholders of Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank) are encouraging the country’s third-largest bank to look into the sale of Citigroup’s Mexican consumer banking subsidiary, claiming the bank would gain from expanding in the fast-growing Latin American country.

Even though Chief Executive Officer Brian Porter downplayed desire for significant mergers just a day before Citi announced the sale of Citibanamex, Mexico’s third-largest retail bank, markets saw Scotiabank as a logical bidder.

Citibanamex’s acquisition, valued from $4 billion to $8 billion, would allow Scotiabank to expand in Mexico, which contributed to about a quarter of its foreign business revenue and 7.6% of overall revenue in fiscal 2021.

Scotiabank had roughly C$7.5 billion in excess capital at the end of 2021, but Porter said the bank isn’t looking for acquisitions that aren’t less than C$900 million ($719 million) in the United States.

At a conference this week, Porter said, there aren’t any major files on his desk in terms of “buying somebody’s share in a Mexican bank or anything like that.”