Nova Scotia To Focus On Small Business Units

Bank of Nova Scotia, which has two branches in India, is targeting smaller towns and smaller businesses now.

Towards that end, it is now setting up a branch in the southern city of Coimbatore, by March this year.

Douglas H Stewart, senior vice-president South Asia and subcontinent, Scotiabank, said yesterday the bank had already received the licence for the Coimbatore branch, which would be in addition to the branches the bank has in Mumbai and Calcutta.

The smaller towns also present a major investment opportunity for the bank, which is now being tapped, he said.

Stewart said he had taken charge of Asia Pacific only recently, and his objective for the banks Indian operations would be to look at retail banking, which could be a major challenge and diversification.

Retail banking itself could be an area we could consider to strengthen our Indian presence, Stewart added.

Scotiabank, which is globally into investment banking and securities trading is also looking at all possible areas of opportunity in these areas.

I am not saying we will go into that, but we will surely examine all the possibilities in these businesses in India, he said.

Scotiabank is into trade finance, corporate finance and in commercial banking and aims to strengthen the banking linkages not only between Indian and Canadian companies, but also between India and other countries of the world.

A sizeable share of the business is aimed at furthering the trade relations between corporates in India and other countries, he said.

Apparently, retail banking throws up major opportunities in itself for the bank which is clearly intending to start off with this kind of focus before moving on to other diversifications like investment banking and broking.

Declining to specifically spell out whether Scotiabank was in talks with any Indian investment bank or broking outfit, Stewart said the bank was open to suggestions on the matter.

The bank, Stewart said, is also contemplating expanding its operations in the neighbouring countries of India, like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan, where it does not have operations.