Banco Davivienda has taken over Scotiabank’s operations in Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama in exchange for a 20% stake in its company.
Between the two banks, they will have over 27 million clients in the region and will be the second largest institution in Colombia behind Bancolombia and ahead of Banco de Bogotá. However, they will pass Bancolombia for the largest number of credit cards in the country with 3.8 million. It is the largest transaction in Colombia’s banking sector in recent years. At current exchange rates, 20% of Banco Davivienda is worth around $417 million.
“With this agreement, we advance our execution plan towards sustainable and higher returns across our International Banking markets,” said Francisco Aristeguieta, Scotiabank’s head of international banking in a statement.
Rumors of the deal started in November 2024 as Scotiabank looked to continue CEO Scott Thomson’s plans to refocus on core markets, especially in North America. However, they will continue to service corporate, wealth management and global clients in those countries. Grupo Bolívar, who own Vivienda, have been preaching regional consolidation too.
At the end of 2023, Grupo Bolívar, led by the Cortés family, reported assets of $19.1 billion.
“This alliance represents a strategic advance in Davivienda’s positioning in the region, maintaining Scotiabank’s global experience by becoming a shareholder of Davivienda,” Banco Davivienda said in a statement. “These agreements will allow Davivienda to bring an innovative and competitive value proposition with a global vision to the Latin markets where it operates.”
Scotiabank entered Latin America with a $1 billion stake in Banco Colpatria in 2012, enough for a majority stake. Four years later they paid $360 million for Citibank’s operations in Costa Rica and Panama. In 2018, Scotiabank took over Citi’s Colombian personal and SME banking operations.
The deal is expected to take around 12 months to finalize. Scotiabank will be represented on Davivienda’s board of directors. Key issues for the new bank will be introducing new technologies as well as dealing with a broader client base. However, Davivienda is now positioned to potentially take Bancolombia’s crown for number of customers and asset base.
