Scotiabank secures access to physicians with MD Financial purchase

Scotiabank is acquiring MD Financial Management, a firm that’s currently owned by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and which provides financial services to physicians and their families, the bank announced Thursday.

MD Financial manages and administers more than $49 billion in assets. Scotiabank is buying the firm for a purchase price of $2.6 billion in cash.

Following the deal’s closing, expected in Q4 2018, Scotiabank and CMA will enter into “a 10-year collaboration” where the CMA “will exclusively promote Scotiabank as the preferred provider of financial products and services to physicians and their families in Canada,” a press release says.

As part of the arrangement, “both parties will jointly support philanthropic initiatives and other programs for physicians and the communities they serve.”

For example, Scotiabank plans to invest $115 million over the next 10 years to help advance “the medical profession and healthcare in Canada,” says James O’Sullivan, group head of Canadian Banking at Scotiabank. The goal, he adds, is to “help underscore CMA’s strategic vision of a vibrant profession and a healthy population.”

When the deal closes, MD Financial Management will continue to operate as a stand-alone brand within Scotia Wealth Management. It will maintain its existing people and management team.

A public offering of 19.7 million common shares of Scotiabank—at $76.15 per share on a bought deal basis, for gross proceeds of $1.50 billion—will fund a portion of the purchase price for the acquisition, the release says. As a result, Scotiabank’s Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio will be impacted by approximately 30 basis points.

Read: Scotiabank’s Q2 net income up almost 4%, helped by international banking

Brian Peters, MD Financial’s president and CEO, says in the release that he’s confident in the bank’s “existing capabilities in investment management and digital banking” and in its “team-based approach to wealth management that addresses the entirety of a client’s life.”

In May, Scotiabank announced that it plans to acquire a 51% controlling interest in Peru’s Banco Cencosud for approximately $130 million.

Also read: Big 5 banks beat Q2 expectations with strong international growth

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.