Scotiabank Mortgage Lender Profile
Generally for Borrowers who qualify under standard bank criteria and want a large branch-based bank, reachable either directly or through a broker.
Who they are
Scotiabank is the operating brand of The Bank of Nova Scotia, a Schedule I chartered bank founded in Halifax in 1832 and now headquartered at 44 King Street West in Toronto. It is one of Canada's Big Six banks and one of the country's largest residential mortgage lenders, with an international business alongside its Canadian banking. You can deal with Scotiabank directly through its branch network, its Home Financing Advisors or its eHOME digital mortgage application, and it has also worked with independent mortgage brokers since 2008 through a dedicated broker channel called Scotia Mortgage Authority.
What they lend on, and who for
Scotiabank is a prime lender. It originates insured, insurable and uninsured residential mortgages for purchases, refinances, renewals and switches from another lender. It is known for the Scotia Total Equity Plan, a collateral-charge structure that bundles a mortgage together with other borrowing under a single registration. Its appetite and its pricing have moved with its own balance-sheet and funding priorities over the years, including a deliberate pullback in the early 2020s followed by a return to more competitive pricing in the broker channel, so how it compares with other lenders has varied over time.
How to approach Scotiabank
You can contact Scotiabank yourself; nothing stops you. What you cannot easily find out is what they will actually accept. How they read employment income, what they will do with a bonus or commission, how much rental income they will count against a property, and what they want documented and how recent it has to be — none of that is published in full anywhere, and it moves.
A licensed broker who places files with lenders like this every week knows those criteria, and more usefully knows how to structure a file so it lands inside them rather than just outside. On anything that is not a straightforward salaried purchase, that structuring is most of the difference between an approval and a decline. It costs you nothing on a prime mortgage — the lender pays the broker when it funds.
| Lender type | Bank · Schedule A |
| Trade name of | The Bank of Nova Scotia |
| Head office | 44 King Street West, Toronto, ON M5H 1H1 |
| Website | scotiamortgageauthority.scotiabank.com |
| Phone | 1-800-472-6842 |
Get notified 90 days before your renewal
Your lender contacts you at 30 days, when you have no time to shop. We reach you at 90 — early enough to lock a hold and personalize your offers.
Borrower ratings for Scotiabank
In today’s world, reviews dictate the service industry. Brokers have taken the hit for bad lenders. We bring the consumer experience to light to help borrowers decide.
How quickly did they issue a commitment and get to funding?
Was the rate you got competitive for the product you qualified for?
Could you reach someone, and did they resolve things?
Portal, e-signing, document upload, online account — did it work?
Were the terms, fees and penalties clear before you signed?
Worked with Scotiabank?
Score them on the five things above. We confirm every review by email before it publishes, and we publish the bad ones too.
Questions about Scotiabank
Is Scotiabank a real mortgage lender?
Yes. Scotiabank is a bank (schedule a) based in Ontario, part of The Bank of Nova Scotia. Its own site is scotiamortgageauthority.scotiabank.com.
What kind of lender is Scotiabank?
Bank — categorised in our directory as Bank (Schedule I). Chartered banks. Convenient and familiar, rarely the cheapest, and the source of the most expensive break penalties in the market because their interest rate differential is calculated off posted rates rather than the rate you actually pay.
Who owns Scotiabank?
Scotiabank is part of The Bank of Nova Scotia. Ownership matters mainly because it tends to determine the funding source and, on a fixed mortgage, how the break penalty is calculated.
Should I go to Scotiabank directly or through a broker?
You can approach them yourself. The reason most people do not is that a lender's real criteria — how income is read, what is accepted as documentation, what will be allowed as an exception — are not published, and they change. A broker who works with Scotiabank regularly knows them and knows how to present a file to fit them, which on anything other than a simple salaried purchase is usually what decides the answer. On a prime mortgage it costs you nothing either way, because the lender pays the broker when it funds.
Would Scotiabank approve me?
No profile page can answer that, and any site that tries is guessing. It turns on how your income is earned and how much of it a lender will count, your credit history, the property itself, and how much you need against what it is worth. Those are the questions a licensed broker asks before naming a lender — and they will tell you which ones realistically fit, this one included, and which would price it better.
Where does Scotiabank lend?
Its head office is in Ontario. Lending areas change and are not always the same as where the lender is based — confirm current coverage with the lender or a broker before planning around it.
Would Scotiabank take your file?
Send us the details and a licensed broker will tell you which lenders fit — this one included, and the ones that would price it better.
Send us the file