The Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call November 28, 2023 8:00 AM ET
Company Participants
John McCartney - Head of Investor Relations
Scott Thomson - President and Chief Executive Officer
Raj Viswanathan - Chief Financial Officer
Phil Thomas - Chief Risk Officer
Jake Lawrence - Global Banking and Markets
Conference Call Participants
Ebrahim Poonawala - Bank of America
Gabriel Dechaine - National Bank Financial
Mario Mendonca - TD Securities
Paul Holden - CIBC
Doug Young - Desjardins Capital Markets
Darko Mihelic - RBC Capital Markets
Sohrab Movahedi - BMO Capital Markets
Mike Rizvanovic - KBW Research
Nigel D'Souza - Veritas Investment Research
Lemar Persaud - Cormark Securities
John McCartney
Good morning, and welcome to Scotiabank's 2023 Fourth Quarter Results Presentation. My name is John McCartney, and I am Head of Investor Relations here at Scotiabank.
Presenting to you this morning are Scott Thomson, Scotiabank's President and Chief Executive Officer; Raj Viswanathan, our Chief Financial Officer; and Phil Thomas, our Chief Risk Officer. Following our comments, we will be glad to take your questions. Also present to take questions are the following Scotiabank Executives: Aris Bogdaneris from Canadian Banking; Glen Gowland from Global Wealth Management; Francisco Aristeguieta from International Banking; and Jake Lawrence from Global Banking and Markets.
Before we start, and on behalf of those speaking today, I'll refer you to Slide 2 of our presentation, which contains Scotiabank's caution regarding forward-looking statements.
With that, I will turn the call over to Scott.
Scott Thomson
Thank you, John, and good morning, everyone.
This month marks the completion of my first year in this role as President. I'm pleased to have had the opportunity to spend the year listening to and learning from our shareholders, clients and employees. I have seen personally the passion and commitment that Scotiabankers across the footprint have to making us a better bank.
Our results for the year reflect a period of decelerating industry loan growth as well as our own deliberate actions to focus on balanced growth, and a thoughtful approach to improving the profitability of our businesses and client relationships. We've made significant progress on key initiatives that are fundamental to strengthening our balance sheet and improving our business mix. Both will be important as we embark on our next phase of growth.
The Bank reported adjusted earnings of $8.4 billion or $6.54 per share in fiscal 2023. Our return on equity was 11.7%. We believe our improved balance sheet strength and liquidity positions us to manage through potentially a more difficult economic scenario that could materialize.