The Scotiabank Women Initiative Surpasses C$3B Target

Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS), Canada’s third-largest bank, announced Thursday that The Scotiabank Women Initiative has reached its goal of investing C$3 billion to help women-owned and women-led businesses in Canada.

The initiative surpassed that target in September — ahead of the projected deadline — having so far spent C$3.2 billion to help thousands of women move towards achieving their professional and financial goals. (See Bank of Nova Scotia stock charts on TipRanks)

“Women-owned businesses are essential to the health of the Canadian economy, and I’m extremely proud of how The Scotiabank Women Initiative has played a part in guiding so many of them to success,” said Gillian Riley, president and CEO of Tangerine Bank, and executive sponsor of The Scotiabank Women Initiative.

In addition to exceeding its capital deployment target, the initiative has engaged over 6,000 women entrepreneurs across the country through Un-Mentorship Boot Camps and mentoring sessions, which aim to strengthen their business acumen, help them network and discuss the challenges faced by business leaders.

Scotiabank collaborated with more than 15 organizations, including Disruption Ventures, The Forum, Réseau des Femmes d’affaires du Québec, and MNP. The bank also launched the Scotiabank Women Initiative Digital Hub in collaboration with Shopify (SHOP), Google Canada, Pinterest (PINS), LinkedIn, Facebook (FB), and HubSpot (HUBS), which offers resources to help women entrepreneurs navigate uncertain economic times.

On August 30, National Bank Financial analyst Gabriel Dechaine maintained a Hold rating on BNS and a price target of C$86. This implies 10.1% upside potential.

The rest of the Street is cautiously optimistic on BNS with a Moderate Buy consensus rating, based on five Buys and four Holds. The average Bank of Nova Scotia price target of C$87.43 implies 11.9% upside potential to current levels.

TipRanks’ Smart Score

BNS scores a “Perfect 10” on TipRanks’ Smart Score rating system, indicating that the stock returns are very likely to beat the overall market.