Scotiabank’s ongoing technology modernization has resulted in tech staff reductions in Canada and internationally during its fiscal fourth quarter 2022.

The $1.3 trillion bank’s digital strategy was part of its Q4 restructuring charge of $66 million, according to the bank’s Q4 earnings supplement. The restructuring charge fell 29% when compared with the same period in 2021 when Scotiabank reduced branches and full-time employees amid rising adoption of digital channels and process automation.

Restructuring was also related to the realignment of global banking and market businesses in Asia-Pacific, Raj Viswanathan, chief financial officer at Scotiabank, said during today’s Q4 earnings call, noting other charges were from “ongoing technology modernization.”

Scotiabank reported for Q4:

• Revenue increased 11% YoY to $3.1 billion;
• Noninterest expenses grew 6% YoY to $4.3 million, driven by personnel, advertising and technology-related costs;
• Active digital users rose 8% YoY to 8 million; and
• Active mobile users climbed 11% YoY to 7.5 million.

The bank’s technology investment, both operationally and client-facing, was well-received by its customers as adoption grew in Q4, according to Chief Executive Brian Poynter.

“We continued this year to build and introduce new digital tools and platforms to enhance the customer investment experience,” Poynter said during the earnings call.

For example, this year the bank rolled out spending and budgeting tools Scotia Smart Money and Scotia Smart Investor, a new generation of its mobile trading app iTrade, along with real-time payments access through Scotia TranXact.

Looking ahead to 2023, the bank is focused on higher-quality credit moving forward as it has made investments in its collections business, said Phil Thomas, chief risk officer at Scotiabank.

“We’ve built collections hubs, we’ve invested in technology, we’ve invested in analytics, and we’re doing a lot of preemptive phone calls to customers who may have a bit of stress,” Thomas said. “Both from a quality of the portfolio and the processes we have in place to help our customers, and from a collections perspective, we’re feeling pretty good to go into next year.”

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[All currency figures above in US dollars.]

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