Scotiabank Profit Lowers by 14% on Job Cuts, Venezuela Costs

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Canada’s third-largest lender by assets, Bank of Nova Scotia, has revealed to have had its fourth-quarter profit fell 14 percent on costs from cutting 1,500 jobs and writing down assets in Venezuela. According to the bank, its net income for the period ending on Oct. 31 reached C$1.44 billion ($1.26 billion), or C$1.10 a share, from C$1.68 billion, or C$1.29, a year earlier. The Toronto-based lender mentioned in a statement that the adjusted profit, excluding one-time items, was C$1.39 a share, i.e. a little less than the analysts’ expectations.

Chief Executive Officer, 56-year-old Brian Porter, has worked hard in cutting costs at Scotiabank. The bank has retail and commercial banking operations in more than 55 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia. In the quarter, the bank took a C$342 million charge in order to cut jobs, close international branches, complete legal provisions and bad Caribbean loans that lowered earnings by 22 cents a share. The bank first disclosed the costs Nov. 4.

According to the statement issued by Mr. Porter, “we expect earnings growth to moderate somewhat in 2015 as a result of a continued low-rate environment and ongoing investments in technology and other business initiatives.” Furthermore, it was mentioned that “the headwinds that we have experienced over the last few quarters are likely to persist into the first half of 2015, with more robust growth expected in the latter part of the year.”