Foreign gains set Scotiabank apart

Article Excerpt

Bank of Nova Scotia is still our top pick among the big-five banks for safety-conscious investors. Its strong earnings in the latest quarter reflect its lower-risk lending and its focus on fast-growing developing markets. These strengths are more than offsetting rising costs and competition in Canada, as well as a rising Canadian dollar, which lowers the contribution of Scotia’s foreign operations. BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $54.53 (Toronto symbol BNS: Shares outstanding: 1.1 billion; Market cap: $58.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Div. yield: 3.8%, www.scotiabank.com) is the third largest of Canada’s five big banks, with assets of $567.7 billion. Excluding one-time items, the bank earned $1.14 a share in the quarter ended July 31, 2011. That’s up 16.3% from $0.98 a share a year earlier. The bank continues to set aside less money to cover bad loans because of the improving economy. Loan-loss provisions fell 12.0%, to $243 million from $276 million a year earlier. The Canadian banking division’s earnings rose just 4.1%,…