Bank of Nova Scotia Building, Havana is a Neoclassical-style bank building located at the intersection of Calle O´Reilly and Calle Cuba in old Havana.
Built in 1906, the building was branch and business offices for Canadian-based Bank of Nova Scotia in the early 20th century. Additional floors were added in 1914 to the original two-floor building. It also served as a Scotiabank's branch in Havana and sold to a local bank Banco Metropolitano S.A. (founded 1996).[1]
Once one of the most important foreign banks in Cuba, Scotiabank is one of the few foreign banks allowed to retain offices in the country after 1959.[1] Today Scotiabank focusses on business banking (after approval in 2011[2]) and no longer operates banking branches (ceased in 1959 when all non-Cuban banks closed operations and transferred to Banco Nacional de Cuba) in Cuba.[3][4]
Rival Royal Bank of Canada operated in Cuba from 1899 with 24 branches (from high of 65 in the 1920s) when it was forced to sell their operations in 1960.[5] A former branch building in Havana and is being renovated since 2012 after sitting vacant[6]
See also
- List of banks in Cuba
- List of buildings in Havana
- National Bank of Canada - operating in Cuba since the mid 1990s
- Royal Bank of Canada Building, Havana
References
- ^ a b "Bank of Nova Scotia - Havana Guide". cuba-explore.com.
- ^ "Canadian banks eye Cuba - The Star". thestar.com.
- ^ "Cuba". www.scotiabank.com.
- ^ "Nova Scotia Bank Building". Old Havana Web. Archived from the original on 2016-08-14. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
- ^ Philcovex (4 March 2013). "Postal History Corner: 1939 The Royal Bank of Canada and Rocket Mail".
- ^ "- Cuba-European Union RelationsThe Cuban Economy – La Economía Cubana".