Scotiabank to Purchase Five Per Cent of Bank of Punjab

A nationally licenced, publicly-traded bank, Bank of Punjab has a strong presence in Indias northern state of Punjab, as well as in the national capital region of Delhi and the neighboring state of Haryana. With over 130 full-service, retail banking branches and commercial centers, plus specialized trade and foreign exchange units, Bank of Punjab has branches in several cities outside of northern India, including Mumbai. Bank of Punjab also has 210 automated banking machines (ABMs) and provides Internet banking services. The value of the offer is worth an approximate Cdn$7 million. The size of the stake reflects the current maximum ownership permitted by local banking regulations, given our existing branch network. Scotiabank first expanded into India, opening a representative office in Mumbai, in 1982, providing commercial banking, treasury and trade services. The Banks existing network of five branches in the cities of Mumbai, New Delhi, Coimbatore, Bangalore and Hyderabad will continue to support active banking relationships with major Indian and offshore multi-national customers. Since 1997, Scotiabank has also been a major participant in the import and sale of bullion in India under a special licence granted by the Reserve Bank of India. This enabled the Bank to provide specialized services to domestic jewellery manufacturers and exporters through the expertise of our bullion trading division, ScotiaMocatta.