Bank of Nova Scotia decided to retain its ScotiaMocatta metals trading business, but it will initiate a strategic review of the unit, Reuters reported Feb. 27, citing Dieter Jentsch, the company's investment banking head.
"We will be exiting some markets, we will be simplifying our product suite, and [we will] be much more judicious about our allocation of capital and liquidity," said Jentsch.
In January, Reuters reported that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. were undertaking due diligence for the metals trading arm, for which the bank was seeking up to US$1 billion.
The bank had reportedly engaged JPMorgan to assist in the sale process, which was targeted for completion before the end of March.
Scotiabank began a review of ScotiaMocatta in 2016 following a series of lawsuits related to the manipulation of gold and silver price benchmarks, and the disappointing performance of the unit.
