Bank of Nova Scotia is looking for insurance and pension funds acquisitions in Mexico. Its Mexican subsidiary, Scotiabank Inverlat, reckons Mexico’s private pension system is ripe for investment. Founded seven years ago, it has already attracted attention from international banks, including Citigroup.
At the end of March, the Mexican pension system had 31.7 million members, up 7 per cent on 2003, while managed funds were up 21 percent to 645.1 billion pesos ($55.75 billion). Funds invested in the Mexican insurance market have grown by between 15 percent and 30 percent in the past two years.
Scotiabank chief executive Richard Waugh told reporters in Toronto last week that the bank was “actively” looking for takeover targets in Latin America, Mexico and Asia. “It’s a significant part of our future and our growth, and we are actively looking at opportunities in each of the markets that we’re in today,” he said.