We commit to respect human rights as a financial services provider, and we expect our clients to do business in a way that respects human rights as well. As a financial services institution, we operate in a highly regulated environment. Compliance with these regulations is paramount. Within the context of this regulatory environment, we have put into place policies and processes to assess actions we take in connection with the delivery of financial services that offer us a better understanding of our business relationships and provide good governance. These policies and processes also help us to identify and assess potential human rights, Indigenous rights, social, environmental, climate change, and health and safety risks. The identification and mitigation of these risks are assessed in addition to traditional forms of financial risk. In doing so, we consider whether customers’ practices and operations may have substantial negative impacts.
We also strive to be respectful, inclusive, responsive, and exceed customer expectations wherever we operate. This includes supporting and reflecting the diverse communities and cultures we serve, ensuring our systems and processes are free of bias, and serving customers in a culturally sensitive and accessible manner. Through our products and services, we work to remove barriers and increase access to financial services, and to provide financial education, tools, and advice to help customers make knowledgeable and responsible financial decisions.
Scotiabank is firmly committed in the international effort to fight financial crimes. Through our Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Anti-Terrorist Financing (ATF), and Sanctions program, ongoing due diligence is conducted to identify, prevent, and address risks of illicit financing activities, including those related to human rights violations. A prime example is Project Shadow: a public-private partnership co-led by Scotiabank, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, Canadian regulator FINTRAC, and law enforcement agencies, to develop and detect indicators of online child sexual exploitation.
Scotiabank has no appetite for unethical conduct by employees and zero tolerance for bribery and corruption. Our Anti-Bribery & Anti-Corruption (ABAC) Policy provides guidance on the obligations contained in the Scotiabank Code of Conduct related to bribes, payoffs, and corrupt practices. It also addresses key risks associated with bribery and corruption, and supports the prevention, detection, and response to bribery and corruption with respect to dealings by or on behalf of Scotiabank with public officials, third parties, and customers.
Scotiabank is committed to safeguarding all customer information and treating it in a manner that is fair, ethical, and non-discriminatory. Data privacy and protection, as well as the responsible sourcing and use of data, have been identified as salient human rights issues for the Bank. We address these matters through our robust data privacy, data ethics, and data protection programs. Our privacy commitment is to protect the personal information entrusted to us by our customers, and our data ethics commitment is to ensure that we use data in a manner that is responsible, fair, and transparent. Our data protection program commitment is to protect customer data and other sensitive banking data from being lost, misused, or accessed by unauthorized users. Backed by our guiding principles and commitment to the ethical use of data, we rely on our frameworks, policies, standards, procedures, and committees to identify and remediate any potential bias associated with our data practices.
As an asset manager, Scotiabank Global Asset Management has been a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) since 2018. MD Financial Management and Jarislowsky, Fraser Limited are also PRI Signatories.
With respect to marketing, advertising, and sponsorships, Scotiabank believes that representation matters. Our Inclusion by Design principles guide our commitment to accurately and authentically reflect the diversity of our customers, employees, and the communities we serve globally. Our memberships in organizations such as Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) and SeeHer support these efforts.
As part of our efforts to fulfill our commitment to respect human rights in connection with the provision of financial services, we draw upon a wide variety of internal policies and governance documents and external initiatives which include, but are not limited to:
