Our History Our history dates back to 1832 - the year when The Bank of Nova Scotia was founded. For the duration of the 19th century, and throughout the next, bank branches expanded across Canada, into the U.S. and overseas. In addition to its growing retail services, The Bank of Nova Scotia began providing corporate banking services from its New York offices in the early 80's. By 1983, in response to increasing client demand, corporate banking services were offered in other U.S. cities and Canada. In 1988, The Bank of Nova Scotia acquired McLeod Young Weir (later renamed ScotiaMcLeod Inc.) - a leading Toronto brokerage firm, founded in 1921. In November 1995, the wholesale arm of ScotiaMcLeod was formally integrated with the capital markets businesses of The Bank of Nova Scotia under the marketing banner Scotia Capital Markets. Complementing its combined capabilities, The Bank of Nova Scotia successfully acquired the long-standing leading dealer in bullion, The Mocatta Group, and formed what is now known as ScotiaMocatta - the precious and base metals businesses of The Bank of Nova Scotia