Banco Davivienda S.A. (BVC:PFDAVVNDA) agreed to acquire banking operations in Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama from The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS) on January 6, 2025. Scotiabank will receive a combination of newly issued common and preferred shares reflecting an approximate 20% equity ownership stake in the newly combined entity. As part of the transaction, Mercantil Colpatria will sell its interest in Scotiabank Colpatria in Colombia. As part of the agreement, Scotiabank will have the right to designate individual(s) to serve on the Board of Directors of Davivienda's combined operations commensurate with its ownership stake. Scotiabank's operations that are part of this transaction will now be considered held for sale for accounting purposes, and an after-tax impairment loss of approximately CAD 1.4 billion will be recognized in the first quarter of 2025. This is expected to reduce Scotiabank's Common Equity Tier 1 ("CET1") ratio by approximately 10-15 basis points. In addition, there may be changes to the loss up to closing from changes in the value of the shares received and carrying value of the assets being sold.
We estimate that additional losses of approximately CAD 0.3 billion will be recorded on closing primarily relating to cumulative foreign currency translation losses.
Subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals in the relevant jurisdictions, the completion of the transaction is expected to occur in approximately 12 months from signing.
Tony Del Pino, Carlos Ardila, Mapi Villanueva, Catalina Ucros Tellez, Jeff Tochner, John Slater, Alan Kimball, Eric Kamerman, Santiago Bejarano, Arthur Long, Laura Waller and Laura Szarmach, Joseph Bargnesi, Kevin Chambers, Andrew Galdes and Robert Brown of Latham & Watkins LLP acted as legal advisor for Banco Davivienda S.A. Roberto Vidal, Ana Carolina Castillo, Jose Rafael Reyes and Sophia Lee of Morgan & Morgan Group acted as legal advisor for Banco Davivienda S.A. Uri Weinstok, Vivian Liberman, Eduardo Calderón, Elia Naranjo, Ignacio Alonso, Vittoria di Gioacchino, Andrés López, Neftalí Garro, Juan José López, Alexandra Aguilar, León Weinstok and Alejandro Goicuría of BLP Abogados acted as legal advisor for Banco Davivienda S.A. Arturo Gerbaud and Rita de la Guardia and Jorge Federico Lee of Alemán Cordero Galindo & Lee acted as legal advisor for The Bank of Nova Scotia.
Banco Davivienda S.A. (BVC:PFDAVVNDA) completed the acquisition of banking operations in Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama from The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS) on December 1, 2025. Davivienda Group S.A. received a CAD 699.58 million (US$500 million) credit facility granted by The Bank of Nova Scotia. The proceeds of the facility will be used, in part, to finance Davivienda?s acquisition of The Bank of Nova Scotia?s operations in Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica.
Banco Davivienda SA is a Colombia-based banking institution. The Bankâs products and services include savings and current accounts, consumer and commercial loans, credit and debit cards, mortgages, fixed-term deposits, portfolio management, foreign trade financing and a variety of insurance policies, as well as other banking operations to individuals and businesses. As of December 31, 2012, the Bank operated a network of 572 branch offices located nationwide and one in the United States. It also owned such subsidiaries as Fiduciaria Davivienda SA, Dadivalores SA, Bancafe Panama SA and Fiduciaria Cafetera SA, among others. In addition, Grupo Empresarial Bolivar was the Companyâs major shareholder.
