Scotiabank transfers Costa Rica, Colombia, and Panama banking operations to Davivienda
Scotiabank has reached an agreement to transfer its banking operations in Costa Rica, Colombia, and Panama to Davivienda, a Latin American financial institution owned by the Bolívar Group.
Scotiabank transfers banking operations in select LatAm markets
In a statement, Scotiabank described the deal as “capital neutral overall with potential upside to earnings in future years”, with the bank set to receive an “approximate 20% ownership stake” in the combined banking operations headed by Davivienda on a “pro forma basis” as part of the deal.
The Canadian banking group, now entitled to appoint board members proportional to its Davivienda ownership share, says that “operations that are part of this transaction will now be considered held for sale for accounting purposes”, resulting in an after-tax impairment loss of CAD 1.4 billion (around $1 billion) in Q1 2025.
Furthermore, the transaction, pending regulatory approvals and expected to close within 12 months, will also see investment firm Mercantil Colpatria divest its share in Scotiabank Colpatria in Colombia.
Scotiabank, which reports assets of around $1.4 trillion, says the transaction aligns with its “operational efficiency efforts in its noncore markets” and solidifies its “strategic focus on building a connected value proposition focused on client primacy across its growth markets in the North American corridor and Latin America”.
For Davivienda, which serves 24.6 million customers through over 660 branches and more than 2,800 ATMs across Latin America, the addition of Scotiabank’s businesses is expected to boost its total assets to around $60 billion.
Moving forward, Scotiabank and Davivienda are set to formalise a mutual referral agreement, enabling Scotiabank to continue providing services to corporate, wealth, and global banking and markets “across Davivienda’s footprint”.
