10-Q, Member Exclusive

Is KeyBank the missing link in Scotiabank’s US market expansion strategy?

  • Earlier this month, Scotiabank agreed to a $2.8 billion investment in KeyCorp.
  • Unlike most Canadian banks that opt for full acquisitions, Scotiabank’s minority stake in a US bank is a more cautious move. We explore why.
close

Email a Friend

Is KeyBank the missing link in Scotiabank’s US market expansion strategy?

    What happens when the 18th-largest US bank offloads some of its stake to Canada’s third-biggest bank


    When SVB went under last year, it sent shockwaves through the US financial services industry, impacting every player in some way. Regional banks, however, were hit the hardest.

    As soon as SVB’s troubles surfaced, regional bank stocks tumbled and have lagged behind the broader US equity market ever since. A year on, the landscape for small banks hasn’t changed much. They are still grappling with declining net interest income, and compelled to offer higher rates to depositors even as borrower demand remains sluggish. Even KeyBank, positioned 18th among US banks with assets of about $185.23 billion, found itself on the losing end of last year’s financial turmoil.

    Despite the challenges at home, the situation has become a gateway for international players seeking to expand in the competitive US market. Scotiabank, Canada’s third-largest bank with around $1.2 trillion in assets, is among those capitalizing on the opportunity.

    The deal

    Earlier this month, Scotiabank agreed to a $2.8 billion investment in KeyCorp, the holding company for KeyBank. Scotiabank plans to buy 14.9% of KeyCorp or about 163 million shares of KeyCorp’s common stock in two installments: an initial $800 million investment and a further $2 billion, subject to the Federal Reserve’s approval.

    The initial installment is expected to close by the end of Scotiabank’s fiscal fourth quarter in October, with the remaining amount to be finalized in fiscal 2025.

    Both sides walk away with something


    subscription wall for TS Pro

    0 comments on “Is KeyBank the missing link in Scotiabank’s US market expansion strategy?”

    10-Q, Member Exclusive

    ‘Payroll is one of the most direct and impactful entry points for embedded finance’: Green Dot’s Crystal Bryant-Minter on the firm’s embedded finance strategy

    • Green Dot's rapid! is wiring earned wage access and real-time payouts into Workday’s payroll and HCM systems.
    • Green Dot sees payroll and payouts not just as an end in themselves, but as the on-ramp to embedded finance at scale.
    Sara Khairi | September 15, 2025
    10-Q, Member Exclusive

    What’s left in the shadows: The Oklahoma institution that grew by keeping its head down

    • In today’s 10Q edition: What’s left in the shadows, we shine a light on the less-talked-about publicly traded names in the industry that do their own thing but remain integral to the banking ecosystem.
    • One of these shadow giants is BOK Financial [BOKF]. Founded in 1910, this Oklahoma-born institution has spent more than a century weaving itself into the economic fabric of the Midwest and Southwest.
    Sara Khairi | September 08, 2025
    10-Q, Member Exclusive

    Citizens sharpens its open banking edge with a new API design

    • Citizens Bank rebooted its open banking API this year, updating the framework for today’s needs.
    • Citizens’ Head of Product Management for Access & Delivery Channels unpacks the launch of the bank’s revamped open banking API framework and the problems it tackles.
    Sara Khairi | September 03, 2025
    10-Q, Member Exclusive

    Chime, SoFi, Nubank: How three different roads are converging into one digital banking paradigm shift

    • The digital banking story in 2025 is a mix of triumph and tension. 
    • In 2024, talk in digital banking centered on neobanks facing higher rates, fading VC, and stiff competition. Mid-2025 shows the outcome: yes, but only a handful.
    Sara Khairi | August 25, 2025
    10-Q, Member Exclusive

    How Coinbase is putting a crypto spin on old-school finance

    • Coinbase, once a Silicon Valley outsider pitching crypto as an alternative to the banking system, is now doing business with the very institutions it was supposed to 'disrupt'.
    • The roles are shifting: banks are moving closer to the chain, and Coinbase is evolving beyond being just a crypto trading platform.
    Sara Khairi | August 11, 2025
    More Articles