| Q2 2007 Bank of Nova Scotia Earnings Conference Call - Final
LUC VANNESTE, CFO, BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA: I'm Luc Vanneste, CFO. Rick Waugh, our CEO will lead off with the highlights of our results. I will then follow with a review of the All Bank financials and each of the business line heads will review performance including an update on 2007 priorities. Brian Porter, our Chief Risk Officer will then discuss credit quality and market risk. And finally, Rick will provide some closing comments. We will then be glad to take your questions. We also have our two Vice Chairman and Steve McDonald, co-Head of Scotia Capital, are present to participate in the Q&A. Before we start, I would like to refer you to slide number two of our presentation which contains Scotia Bank's caution regarding forward-looking statements. Rick, over to you. RICK WAUGH, PRESIDENT, CEO, BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA: Well, thanks very much, Luc.
Maximizing 'Credit' for Corporate Cooperation
Following in the wake of the Enron Corp. demise and the resulting aggressive federal investigations of corporate malfeasance, "cooperation" is the coin of the realm. What cooperation means in the context of any given investigation is what the federal agency handling the investigation says it means. Over the past few years, federal agencies have issued a series of written statements articulating the importance of cooperation and setting forth their expectations of the steps necessary to obtain "credit" for cooperation in the context of agency enforcement decisions. Some of those statements -- most notably the now-superseded "Thompson memo" issued by the U.S. Department of Justice in January 2003 -- have fueled controversy, particularly with respect to their treatment of such issues as waiver of the attorney-client privilege and work-product protections.
Mind Your Business
Q: My cousin is a former restaurant manager from France who would like to open his own French bistro here. However, he's having trouble getting funding. Because his wife filed for bankruptcy several years ago, the bank will allow him to borrow against only a small portion of the equity in his house. He is bright, hard-working, talented and has found a great location. Any suggestions? Concerned cousin in Albany A:Banks are often leery of financing restaurant startups because they have such a high failure rate. But your cousin has one big thing working in his favor: his prior experience in restaurant management. So don't give up on bank financing just yet. Different banks have different lending criteria, and even within the same bank you may get a different answer if you speak to someone in charge of SBA-guaranteed loans rather than regular commercial lending.
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