31 July 2007

Scotiabank Mexico Q2 2007 Earnings

  
Financial Post, Jonathan Ratner, 31 July 2007

Solid second quarter results from Bank of Nova Scotia’s Mexican banking business showed net earnings rose 15% on a quarterly basis to $994-million pesos.

Blackmont Capital analyst Brad Smith thinks this should more than offset the 5% quarterly gain for the Canadian dollar as reflected in Scotiabank’s third quarter results.

He continues to rate BNS a “buy” with a $61 price target, representing upside of more than 20%.
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Dow Jones Newswires, Ken Parks, 31 July 2007

The Mexican banking arm of Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia said Tuesday its 2nd quarter net profit fell 36.3% mainly as a result of a one-time tax gain the previous year.

Net profit was 993.8 million pesos ($90.5 million), down from MXN1.56 billion in the year-ago quarter, Grupo Scotiabank said in a press release.

Net interest income for the quarter rose 16.7% to MXN2.20 billion thanks to strong growth in retail loans and an improving cost of funding, while non- interest income fell 31.5% to MXN1.11 billion.

Scotiabank reported an extraordinary gain of MXN528.9 million, principally from a tax refund, in the second quarter of 2006.

Administrative expenses increased 2.5% to MXN1.78 billion, while loan loss provisions soared to MXN502.9 million in the quarter from MXN44.6 million a year ago.

The bank's assets rose 5.3% to MXN136.67 billion at the end of June, while retail deposits grew 5.5% to MXN104.02 billion.

The bank's performing loans rose 4.5% to MXN90.01 billion, with strong growth in mortgages offsetting a drop in commercial and government lending.

Asset quality slipped during the quarter, with the bank's non-performing loan ratio rising to 2.5%, from 2.4% in the first quarter and 2.0% a year ago.

Scotiabank Mexico opened 15 branches during the quarter, ending June with just over 520 branches. The bank said its on track with plans to open 85 new branches in 2007.

Scotiabank Mexico ranks as the country's sixth-largest bank.
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