We understand the direct link between customer satisfaction and satisfied employees – and we’re focusing our employment initiatives directly at making Scotiabank a great place to work. We invest in high-tech training, focus on relationship skills, product knowledge and development programs, and work to continually enhance career opportunities.

In this annual report, we show how our common goals are reflected in our customer relationships and employee achievements in our business lines and locations around the world.

A STRONG CANADIAN FOUNDATION

Two of the customers featured in this report illustrate the effectiveness of the personal touch we provide through our Canadian branch and electronic networks. The first is a young doctor from Winnipeg, Manitoba, who looks for choice, convenience and professional expertise. The second is the Robinson family of Prince Edward Island, customers for three generations, who value relationships that continue to grow.

Millions of Canadian customers can draw upon a wide range of Scotiabank services and products, from lending and deposits, to mutual funds and insurance, at any of our 1,284 branches and offices or through our electronic banking services. Investment management needs can be expertly handled by our trust division – one of Canada’s largest – or through our wealth management subsidiaries, including ScotiaMcLeod, Scotia Cassels and Scotia Discount Brokerage.

We’re also increasing our depth in the investment counselling field, providing enhanced service for global and Canadian investors in the areas of estates and trusts, endowments, fiduciary money management and mutual funds. Small business is one of the fastest growing market segments in Canada and key to the country’s economic success. To serve these clients better, we have made our processes simpler and introduced new products.

INTEGRATED WHOLESALE OPERATIONS

As a leader in corporate and investment banking, Scotiabank provides a wide range of wholesale banking services to both Canadian and international clients. We listen and respond to the specific needs of corporations and individuals. Our partnership with Canada’s Onex Corporation, one of our many corporate customers, exemplifies our commitment to building relationships. With offices in Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America, Scotiabank provides seamless, one-stop service to meet all our clients’ financial needs, from cash management to bullion trading, from debt and equities to stock transfer services. We rank 10th in the world in global loan syndications, and we consistently place among the top 10 for syndicated loans in the U.S. As well, our expanding network of locations across Canada serves the needs of individual investment clients.

A GROWING MULTINATIONAL NETWORK

Scotiabank has operated in the international sphere for more than a century, and today provides personal, commercial and corporate services in more than 50 countries. Customers around the world have access to the experience, commitment and global connections of the entire Scotiabank Group.

In the Caribbean, we have a long history of building relationships. In fact, we opened our first office outside of North America in Jamaica in l889. Today, we’re still the region’s leading provider of financial services, with operations in more than 20 countries.

Our network in Asia/Pacific spans 12 countries – the broadest of any Canadian bank. It stretches from India to Japan, and includes strategic alliances with banks in the Philippines and Indonesia, plus Scotiabank branches in China, India, Malaysia and Thailand.

We offer customers a range of retail, commercial, trust, insurance and trade-related services through our affiliations with local banks in Latin America, as well as our own offices throughout the region. By combining the strengths of our people, capital and technology, we are building long-term growth potential – and providing exceptional value to our customers around the world.

Mexico’s Transportacíon Marítima Mexicana, (TMM), for example, does business in 60 countries. It chose Scotiabank as a business partner because of our local strength – through our affiliation with Banco Inverlat – and our similar global reach.