Scotiabank

Is Scotiabank safe?

Yes. The Bank of Nova Scotia had a CET1 ratioCET1 ratioA bank's highest-quality capital (mainly shares and retained profits) as a share of its risk-weighted assets. Higher means more room to absorb losses.More in the glossary of 13.1% at 31 July 2026 against OSFI's requirement of 11.0%, and Moody's rates its deposits Aa2. Eligible deposits are insured by the Canada Deposit InsuranceDeposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary Corporation (CDIC) up to C$100,000 in each category. We score it 77/100, two points below Royal Bank of Canada and three above TD. The main differences from its Canadian peers are a modest liquidity buffer, a large Latin American business and a set of US penalties from its trading desks.

What CDIC covers at Scotiabank

CDIC insures eligible deposits at The Bank of Nova Scotia up to C$100,000 per category, including principal and interest. Deposits in your own name, joint deposits, registered plans such as a TFSA or RRSP, and trust deposits are counted separately, so a household can have well over C$100,000 covered at one bank. Foreign currency deposits are eligible.

Three things fall outside:

• Investments. Mutual funds, stocks, bonds and ETFs, even when bought at a Scotiabank branch or through Scotia iTRADE, are not deposits.
• Latin American accounts. Scotiabank Mexico, Peru and Chile are local banks covered by local schemes.
• Amounts above the limits. These depend on the bank itself, which is strongly rated.

Tangerine, Scotiabank's online bank, is a separate CDIC member, so its limits are counted separately. Scotiabank is a domestic systemically important bank in Canada but, unlike RBC and TD, is not on the Financial Stability Board's list of global systemically important banksG-SIBA global systemically important bank: one of the large banks the Financial Stability Board lists each year because its failure could harm the world economy.More in the glossary.

Capital and ratings

Measure	Bank of Nova Scotia
CET1 ratioCET1 ratioA bank's highest-quality capital (mainly shares and retained profits) as a share of its risk-weighted assets. Higher means more room to absorb losses.More in the glossary (31 July 2026)	13.1%
OSFI CET1 requirement	11.0%
Liquidity coverage ratioLiquidity coverage ratioA bank's cash and easy-to-sell assets compared with the money that could flow out in a 30-day crisis. It must be at least 100%.More in the glossary (quarter to July 2026)	126%
Net stable funding ratioNet stable funding ratioA bank's stable funding, such as capital and retail deposits, compared with the stable funding its assets need over one year. It must be at least 100%.More in the glossary	116%
Deposits	C$1.01 trillion
Ratings (Moody's / S&P / Fitch / DBRS)	Aa2 / A+ / AA+ / AA

The buffer of about two points looks thin next to European banks, but OSFI's requirement is high: it includes a 3.0% Domestic Stability Buffer, a reserve OSFI can release in a downturn and cut from 3.5% in June 2026. Fitch upgraded the bank's deposit rating to AA+ in May 2026. Scotiabank returned C$6.3 billion to shareholders in the first nine months of its 2026 financial year, while keeping its ratio above 13%.

Latin America and liquidity

Scotiabank has more of its business outside North America than any other big Canadian bank, with large banks in Mexico, Peru and Chile. Those markets bring higher margins and higher risk: currencies, politics and credit cycles move more than in Canada. In recent years the bank has shrunk this exposure, selling its operations in Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama to Davivienda in exchange for a 20.3% stake, and buying 14.9% of the US lender KeyCorp. In May 2026 it agreed to buy MapleMark Bank in Dallas so it can offer FDIC-insuredDeposit insuranceA government-backed scheme that repays bank customers up to a set limit if their bank fails, such as the FDIC in the US or the FSCS in the UK.More in the glossary deposits to US clients.

Liquidity is adequate. The coverage ratio of 126% is close to RBC's but well below the 140%-plus of BBVA or DBS. Personal deposits are C$298 billion, under a third of the total; the rest is business, government and bank money that would leave faster in a crisis.

Fines and conduct

Scotiabank's conduct problems have come from its US trading arm rather than its branches. In August 2020 the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission settled two cases for $127.4 million: one over spoofing in precious metals futures, the other over swap dealer compliance failures and misleading statements to CFTC staff about whether audio recordings had been kept. The CFTC also imposed a three-year outside monitor. In May 2023 the CFTC fined it $15 million over employees using personal texting and WhatsApp for business.

In Canada the record is lighter. In a 2021 decision the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada found that Scotiabank had issued credit products without express consent from February to June 2018, but imposed no penalty. The bank is disputing C$637 million of tax, penalties and interest that the Canada Revenue Agency says a subsidiary owes on securities lending; that is a tax dispute, not a misconduct finding.

How to keep your money safe

1. Spread large balances across CDIC categories (own name, joint, TFSA, RRSP) or across Scotiabank and Tangerine to stay within the limits.
2. Remember that investments held through Scotia iTRADE or a Scotiabank adviser are not CDIC-insured.
3. If you bank with Scotiabank in Latin America, check the local deposit scheme and its limit.
4. Turn on two-step verificationTwo-factor authenticationSigning in with a second proof of identity on top of your password, such as a code from an app, a security key or a passkey.More in the glossary and alerts, and be wary of calls or texts asking you to move money or read out codes.

How we scored it

Capital (83) and stability history (84) are the strongest factors, thanks to high ratings and a clean record in 2008. Conduct (60) is the weakest, reflecting the CFTC cases. Liquidity (75) is held back by a modest coverage ratio and a deposit base that is mostly business money.