The bank was incorporated by the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia on March 30, 1832, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with William Lawson (1772–1848) serving as the first president. ScotiaBank was founded in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1832 under the name of The Bank of Nova Scotia. The bank intended to facilitate the trans-Atlantic trade of the time. Later, in 1883, The Bank of Nova Scotia acquired the Union Bank of Prince Edward Island, although most of the bank's expansion efforts in the century took the form of branch openings.
The bank launched its branch banking system by opening in Windsor, Nova Scotia. The expansion was limited to the Maritimes until 1882, when the bank moved west by opening a branch in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Manitoba branch later closed but the bank continued to expand into the American Midwest. This included opening a branch in Minneapolis in 1885 which later transferred to Chicago in 1892. Following the collapse of the Commercial Bank of Newfoundland and Union Bank of Newfoundland on December 10, 1894; The Bank of Nova Scotia established on December 15, 1894, in Newfoundland. In 1899, the bank opened a branch in Boston, Massachusetts. In the meantime, the bank opened a branch in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1889 to facilitate the trading of sugar, rum and fish. This was Scotia Bank's first move into the Caribbean and historically the first branch of a Canadian bank opened outside of the United States or the United Kingdom. By the end of the 19th century, the bank was represented in all of the Maritimes, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba. In 1900, the bank's headquarters were moved to Toronto, Ontario.
Currently, The Bank of Nova Scotia operating as Scotiabank, is a Canadian multinational bank. It is the third largest bank in Canada by deposits and market capitalization. It serves more than 23 million customers in over 55 countries around the world and offers a range of products and services including personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking. With assets of $896.487 billion, Scotiabank shares trade on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges. The bank was founded in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1832, and moved its executive offices to Toronto, Ontario, in 1900. Scotiabank has billed itself as "Canada's most international bank" due to its acquisitions primarily in Latin America and the Caribbean, and also in Europe and India. Through its subsidiary ScotiaMocatta, it is a member of the London Bullion Market Association and one of five banks that participates in the London gold fixing. Scotiabank's Institution Number (or bank number) is 002. The company ranked at number 41 on the SNL Financial World's 100 biggest banks listing, September 2013 and is under the leadership of President and CEO Brian J. Porter.