Brief history of Scotia bank

The Bank of Nova Scotia was established in Jamaica in 1889, and has enjoyed a

history of changes and transformations from colonialism to independence. What began

with a small banking office in Kingston is today, a sophisticated island wide network of

35 branches and 3 sub branches. With a staff of over 2,000, Scotiabank Jamaica

provides state-of-the-art retail and commercial banking services to the Jamaican public.

Through it all, Scotiabank has established its reputation as a strong, stable, and reliable

participant in Jamaica's continuing growth and development. Our commitment to

customers —"Scotiabank…you're safe with us."— is more than just an advertising

slogan; it is backed by the experience and stability accompanying a century of

continuous and progressive banking operations in Jamaica.

When The Bank of Nova Scotia first planted its roots in Jamaica in 1889, banking on the

island was about 50 years old. In those 50-odd years, a number of other banks had

come and gone.

Until the abolition of slavery on August 1, 1834, there had been little need for banks in

Jamaica. The merchants soon began to see the advantage of having a local bank

where bills of exchange could be converted to drafts in sterling, which would be more

readily accepted by their creditors abroad. A barter trade had long existed between the

province of Nova Scotia in Canada and Jamaica. As trade expanded in Jamaica during

the middle of the 19th century, the limitations of the bartering system became

increasingly apparent. The establishment of a branch of The Bank of Nova Scotia in

Kingston, Jamaica therefore provided the best means of placing the trade on a

monetary basis, and so The Bank of Nova Scotia was born.

Our Bank has survived the great earthquake which shattered Kingston in January 1907.

In the 1930's there had been social, political, and economic changes with the advent of

Marcus Mosiah Garvey, and the establishment of the two-party political system as

successive constitutional changes brought adult suffrage, self-government and in 1962,

Jamaica's full independence as a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations.

Innovators

• Mrs. Hastings made history in The Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica when she

became the first female manager in 1962, heading the sub-branch in Montego

Bay .

• Mrs. Myrtle Henry was the first woman to be appointed an Accountant in the late

60's.

• Mr. Harris Schroeter was the first Jamaican to be appointed to an administrative

position.

• Mr. B. Tony Lindo on the threshold of its 100th anniversary, was appointed as

BNSJ's its first Jamaican General Manager, in 1987.

Summary of Organization

The Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica limited is a Canadian Owned Commercial Bank that

is in operation to maximize prophits. Scotiabank or BNS as it is more commonly known

has 44 branches in Jamaica. They provide a wide range of services, such as savings

accounts, Loans, Credit Cards, mortgages, business internet, internet banking for

personal customers, Managers cheques, Bank statement, Payroll Services and

Commercial Loans for Small Business.

However, our main aim is to remain the #1 Commercial Bank in Jamaica and the

Caribbean inevitable. This is very hard for us as with the rising competition we are

constantly pushed to our limits. We are constantly training employees in banking and

the international Anti Money Laundering Act.

Scotiabank ensures that all branches are uniformed, meaning the same procedure

applies to all. We are constantly improving Customer service and putting measures in

place to challenge employees to comply to the rules and regulation of the organization,

hence it can be noted that we are a service driven institution.

For the past 10 years, we have focused primarily on generating organic Growth through

the process improving, increasing customer satisfaction and product innovation. To

Scotiabank there is nothing more important than executing our current growth strategy

as we build on opportunities we have with our customers and prospects in the current

market. Hover the ability to pursue different path to growth is a Scotia Group Hallmark.
Current Goals

For 2008, Scotiabank will continue there intense focus on Growth in all our business

lines and on enhancing our customer experience. Additionally, Scotiabank is focusing

on Small & Medium Enterprises (SME), Wealth, Capital Market and Expence Control.

Scotiabank will remain committed to their overarching objective of creating, encouraging

and sustaining a truly customer customer-centric culture, to foster a Scotia Group

experience that is characterized as reliable, convenient, personal and professional.

Scotiabank realize that Small and Medium Business are the backbone of the economy

and in light of this fact, they have launched its SME strategy to meet the need of

targeted business segments across the market place. They have invested intensively in

training, workshops and put adequate measures to develop persons to become Small

Business Consultants to serve the market place.

Scotiabank product strategy resulted in the development and launch of a credit line for

business, and two credit cards. These are the AAadvantage Business Executive

MasterCard which offers travel miles and higher MasterCard awards which can be

redeemed during travel; and the Scotiabank MasterCard Business Credit Card. Illness

insurance is now available to business owners to cover the card balance in the event of

cancer, heart attack or stroke.

Over the next year, we will focus on three main areas: creating opportunities to leverage

our Value Proposition of “Working Together To Grow Your Business” by partnering with

key small business associations to better understand their needs while simultaneously
identifying opportunities for advisory services, developing industry-specific products,

and continually training the SME task force so that we can ensure a consistently

exceptional experience for our customers.

We will be relying on our Wealth Management division, consisting of Scotia Private

Client Group, Scotia Jamaica Life Insurance Company Limited and DB&G, for a

strategic re-positioning of our income statement to one that is less dependent on

interest margins, given economic trends and the maturity of our traditional retail and

commercial businesses.

Finally, the development of a Capital Markets offering will leverage the expertise that we

have developed and acquired not only in Wealth Management, but also in our

Corporate and Commercial Banking Unit. These synergies will be leveraged to meet the

needs of our larger commercial customers and cement our position as an all-

encompassing financial services provider.

Our productivity ratio over the years has been the benchmark for the industry, and while

we are at a point where achieving productivity gains have become very challenging, we

remain committed to managing our expenses and maintaining our long-run operating

leverage targets. We have begun, and will continue over the 2008 fiscal year, to
implement technology that will drive efficiency, as well as to re-examine and refine all

processes and procurement arrangements that are non-standard and inefficient.

Mission Statement

We are committed to be the institution of choice in the financial sector, providing

superior products and services and being a good corporate citizen to the benefit of our

customers, shareholders and staff.

Vision Statement

We are committed to being the institution of choice in the financial sector, by providing

service that exceeds our customer’s expectation….

Value Statement

Our core values guides the spirit our actions and communications. They instruct us on

how to best deliver our core purpose, and how to treat our customer so they believe that

are worthy of their business- that our values reflect their own. Our aim is to demonstrate

our core values whenever we communicate. Often, it’s the reassurance customers need

to try new products and service.

Management style and style of culture
Strengths (internal)

Our internal strengths is our labour force. Our labour force is highly trained with

knowledge in success planning, innovative ideas, constant coaching and strong

customer service focuses. These are all backed by our core values integrity, insight,

respect, spirit and commitment.

We appreciate our customers business and welcome their suggestions, challenges and

needs while always conveying a professional image through our appearance and

conduct.

We respond to our customers needs and request in an efficient , prompt and timely

manner

We listen to our customers, acknowledge their comments and provide them with clear,

concise and accurate information.

We are always willing to help our customers and take ownership for their satisfaction.

Our customers are valued and special. They are treated with the greatest consideration,

respect, and courtesy.

We have the required skills and knowledge to understand our customer’s needs and to

accurately provide the best solution to achieve their financial goal.

Weaknesses (internal)

1. Pre-judging – Customers are sometimes profiled as suspicious without requisite

information. When we take on the role of prosecutor rather than gatekeeper, then

our customers are assumed guilty until they can prove their innocence.

2. Defaulting to “NO” – Using no as the first response to a customer’s request and

not taking the time to find creative solutions or escalate.

3. Adding precaution to policy – adding rules and procedures are used as a

precautionary measure to avoid risk at the expence of the customer. There is a

general failure to use discretion and documented procedures are further

tightened beyond what is required.

4. Forgetting to follow-through – customers letters are not addressed at all or there

are lengthy delays in receiving a response.

5. Favoritism without fairness – Employees use the banks facilities in an unfair

manner to benefit special customers at the inconvenience of others.

6. Bearer of Good News – employees avoid difficult conversations with customer

and conveniently forget to mention the downsides to a product or service.
Opportunities (External)

While our people and our culture represent our greatest advantages, there are

some key attributes that give us unique advantage in the Jamaican marketplace.

These include the size of our franchise, our international connection and our

extensive network across Jamaica.

Our international connection allows us to create operational efficiencies, such as

recently concluded data centre consolidation, which migrates our main

technology platform offshore.

Flawless execution is core strength of the Scotia Group. Our history and culture

of superior execution enables us to do things the right way, on schedule, on

budget and in ways that enhance the customer experience.

Threats (External)