Scotia Securities was established in 1986 to provide security underwriting and brokerage services. The bank operated in Cuba until 1960, when the Cuban government nationalized all financial institutions in the country, causing Scotiabank to close all of its Cuban branches. Scotiabank also grew through acquisitions and mergers with other banks, such as the Bank of New Brunswick (1913), and became the fourth largest bank in Canada after acquiring the Metropolitan Bank in 1914. The bank continued expanding in the twentieth century by opening branches in Puerto Rico (1910), New York City (1907), and Havana, Cuba (1906). Scotiabank was well represented in Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and all Maritime provinces by the end of the nineteenth century.
Scotiabank became the first Canadian bank to open a branch outside of the United Kingdom (UK) or the United States (US) in 1889 when it expanded to Kingston, Jamaica, to facilitate the fish, rum, and sugar trade.
The bank opened its first branch in Windsor, Nova Scotia, and its growth was initially limited to the Maritimes until a branch was opened in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1882, and established itself in Newfoundland in 1894. Scotiabank intended to facilitate trans-Atlantic trade, and the bank’s first acquisition was the Union Bank of Prince Edward Island in 1883. Scotiabank was incorporated in Halifax in 1832 by Nova Scotia’s Legislative Assembly, and Lawson William served as the bank's first president. Toronto is considered a global center of culture, arts, finance, and business, as well as one of the world’s most cosmopolitan and multicultural cities. Completed in 1988, Scotia Plaza has 68 floors, 44 elevators, and contains 1,600,140 sq ft of floor area. The bank’s corporate offices are located in Scotia Plaza, at 44 King Street West in Toronto, which is Canada's most populous city, as well as Ontario's provincial capital. Halifax was the home of the bank’s headquarters until 1900 when it was moved to Toronto, Ontario, where it currently remains. The Bank of Nova Scotia was founded in 1832 and was initially based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The bank had more than 88,000 employees in 2018. Scotiabank trades on both the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Scotiabank was a member of the London Bullion Market Association through one of its subsidiaries, ScotiaMocatta, until January 2019, when it was dissolved. The Bank of Nova Scotia has billed itself as "Canada's most international bank" as a result of its acquisitions in the Caribbean, Latin America, parts of Asia, and Europe. The bank serves over 25 million customers worldwide and offers a wide range of services and products including personal and commercial banking, wealth management, and investment and corporate banking. The Bank of Nova Scotia, which operates as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational bank and the third biggest in the country by market capitalization and deposits.