Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia reported record quarterly earnings, beating analyst estimates as its capital markets unit posted stronger-than-expected results amid elevated market volatility. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.28, ahead of the roughly $2.10 analysts had expected. Net income rose to $2.95 billion from $2.53 billion a year earlier, while revenue of $10.54 billion also beat forecasts. Adjusted return on equity was 14.2%. The bank cited strength across its Canadian Banking, International Banking and Global Markets divisions, with Canadian Banking posting its fifth consecutive quarter of margin expansion. Shares of Scotiabank jumped 4.7% in Toronto and 5% in New York. Analysts at Jefferies said the outperformance in capital markets was the standout feature of the quarter, though they cautioned the market's reaction may be overweighting the contribution from trading and advisory activity. Jefferies raised its price target on Scotiabank by $2 to $119, reflecting an increase to its 2027 earnings estimate, while cautioning that the elevated capital markets revenues seen in the quarter are unlikely to be sustained at the same pace going forward.

The Bank of Nova Scotia declared a quarterly dividend of CAD 1.14 per share, in line with its previous payout. The dividend is payable on October 28 to shareholders of record on October 6, with the ex-dividend date also set for October 6.

Scotiabank has launched the Scotia Momentum for business No Fee Visa Card, a new credit card for Canadian business owners offering 1% cash back on all eligible purchases with no annual fee. The card also provides up to 6 cents per litre in value on fuel purchases at Shell, cash back redemption anytime with a minimum $25 value, and access to Visa Spend Clarity and Visa SavingsEdge. It includes mobile device insurance, purchase protection, and extended warranty coverage on eligible purchases. Scotiabank, with assets of approximately $1.5 trillion as of April 30, 2026, trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BNS.

Scotiabank has rolled out a suite of digital banking enhancements to its mobile app, including digital bill payment receipts, faster access to new Visa credit cards, and in-app fraud reporting. The new Digital Bill Payment Receipts feature lets clients view, download, and share receipts with payment amount, payee, date, and confirmation number. Eligible clients can now add a newly approved Visa credit card directly to their mobile wallet and begin using it immediately, without waiting for a physical card. Enhanced push notifications support two-step verification, and clients can report suspected fraudulent transactions directly in the app with added merchant names, locations, and timestamps. The update also highlights Scene+ benefits, including up to 10 cents per litre in value at participating Shell stations when linking an eligible Scotiabank card to a Shell Go+ account. Scotiabank, with assets of approximately $1.5 trillion as of April 30, 2026, is one of the largest banks in North America.

Scotiabank announced that the expected net income contribution from its ownership interest in KeyCorp will be approximately CAD $82 million in the third quarter of 2026. This contribution represents the Bank's share of KeyCorp's second quarter 2026 net income, includes acquisition-related and other accounting impacts, is net of the Bank's associated funding costs, and is reported on a one-month lag. Adjusting for the amortization of acquired intangible assets of approximately CAD $8 million, the Bank's adjusted net income contribution from KeyCorp will be approximately CAD $90 million. Scotiabank will release its third quarter financial results and host an earnings conference call on August 25, 2026.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. and Brookfield Infrastructure Corporation announced plans to simplify their corporate structure by converting into one publicly traded corporation named Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Inc. The simplification will exchange outstanding BIP limited partnership units and BIPC class A exchangeable subordinate voting shares on a one-for-one basis for newly issued shares of BIP Inc., with completion expected in the fourth quarter of 2026 following special meetings on October 14, 2026. The transaction is designed to be tax-deferred for Canadian and U.S. investors and aims to improve trading liquidity, broaden the investor base, and enhance governance. BIP's preferred units and public debt will remain outstanding and unaffected, and Brookfield Asset Management's ownership and fee arrangements will continue unchanged. The boards of both entities, based on recommendations from independent special committees and fairness opinions from Scotiabank, unanimously approved the simplification and recommend securityholder approval.

Centerra Gold has amended its revolving credit facility, extending the maturity to July 15, 2030, and increasing the size to US$600 million from US$400 million. The interest rate margin over SOFR now ranges from 1.875% to 3.000%, down from 2.25% to 3.25%, depending on the net leverage ratio. No amounts are currently drawn under the facility, which is led by The Bank of Nova Scotia and National Bank of Canada and backed by a syndicate of international lenders. The expanded facility provides flexibility for general corporate purposes including working capital, investments, potential acquisitions, and capital expenditures.

Bank of Nova Scotia currently pays a dividend of $0.79 per share, yielding 3.73%, which exceeds the Banks - Foreign industry average of 2.8% and the S&P 500's 1.36%. The company's annualized dividend of $3.21 represents a 4.5% increase from last year, and over the past five years it has raised its dividend three times for an average annual increase of 2.35%. Its payout ratio stands at 55% of trailing twelve-month earnings. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 earnings is $6.01 per share, implying 18.77% growth from the prior year. The stock carries a Zacks Rank of 3, or Hold.

Scotiabank congratulates St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, and the GEMINI research team on the national expansion of the Vital health data platform, which will receive $100 million in federal funding as a key pillar of Canada's new AI Strategy. Vital builds on the Ontario-based GEMINI program, which collects and analyzes clinical and administrative data from over 30 hospitals covering more than 60 per cent of Ontario's inpatient care. Through its ScotiaRISE community investment initiative, Scotiabank invested $2 million in 2025 to support GEMINI's extension to mid- and smaller-sized facilities and to provide 10 scholarships for training in healthcare data and advanced analytics. The national platform will establish nearly real-time health data access for research and innovation across the country. Scotiabank's $500 million ScotiaRISE program has partnered with over 300 community organizations and invested more than $212 million globally since 2021.

Canada's banking regulator lowered the capital requirement for the country's largest banks, sending Canadian bank stocks higher. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions reduced the domestic stability buffer to 3.0% from 3.5% of total risk-weighted assets, the first change since June 2023, effective immediately. The regulator also narrowed the buffer's range to 0% to 3% from 0% to 4%. The six largest banks hold an average Common Equity Tier 1 ratio of 13.5%, well above the new supervisory expectation of 11.0%, representing a capital cushion of roughly $74 billion or an expansion in risk-weighted assets of $673 billion. Superintendent Peter Routledge said the move enables the banking sector to deploy excess capital in support of Canada's economic adaptation to new opportunities.

Bank Of Nova Scotia will invest $2.5 million over five years in a renewed arrangement with the Smith School of Business at Queen's University to boost artificial intelligence education and research. The investment, made through the bank's ScotiaRISE community investment initiative, will support the Scotiabank Centre for Analytics & AI at the school. The centre, founded in 2016, brings together faculty, graduate students, and industry experts to collaborate on research and prepare students for careers in enterprise AI.