Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica announced Monday that it acquired Scotia DBG Merchant Bank for $879 million from its subsidary Scotia DBG Investments in a deal aimed at increasing efficiency.

“We feel that this transaction is in the best interest of all stakeholders. Both Scotiabank and Scotia DBG Merchant Bank offer similar products and services and therefore we felt it was a natural step to consolidate the two so as to gain efficiencies while offering our customers greater convenience based on Scotiabank’s wider distribution model,” stated Bruce Bowen president and CEO of Scotiabank in a statement accompanying the acquisition.

Scotiabank Jamaica has over 2,200 employees and 39 branches island-wide and is a subsidiary of Scotiabank Group.

Most recent financials published in March by the Bank of Jamaica showed Scotia DBG Merchant Bank making un-appropriated profits of $34 million up to December 2009. It also carried $1.9 billion in loans net of provision with a capital base of $900 million to December 2009.

An independent valuation of Scotia DBG Merchant Bank was conducted by auditors Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu which determined a sale price of $879 million for Scotia DBG Merchant Bank which Scotia stated that it was “settled in cash”.

Scotiabank has operated in the Caribbean and Central America since 1889. It is a leading bank with operations in 27 countries including affiliates.