Scotiabank’s financing franchise combined strong structuring capabilities with deep regional insight to complete landmark transactions across Latin America in 2024, making it the clear choice for this year’s award.
From powering transformational acquisitions to engineering sustainable, structured and leveraged financings, the bank consistently delivered solutions that moved markets and advanced the region’s growth agenda.
Scotiabank underwrote and syndicated the debt package that enabled Mexico Infrastructure Partners to acquire a $6.2 billion portfolio of 13 power plants. The sheer scale, multi-jurisdictional complexity and compressed timetable demonstrated the bank’s capability as a lead arranger able to mobilise capital, manage risk and navigate regulatory hurdles in three countries.
The bank also funded EnfraGen’s $1.06 billion acquisition and refinancing of renewable assets in Panama and Costa Rica, stitching together a blended tranche structure that optimised tenor for both acquisition and project cash flows. These deals underscored Scotiabank’s position as the region’s go-to lender for strategic takeovers.
During the review period, Scotiabank’s sustainable finance team demonstrated notable breadth, arranging more than 200 ESG-labelled transactions in eight currencies. Highlights included the $500 million five-year green bond for AES Andes, the first bond to recognise energy-storage and green-hydrogen assets under Chile’s updated taxonomy; the deal closed 3.4 times oversubscribed and priced 30 basis points inside initial guidance.
The bank also structured Engie Energía Chile’s debut 10-year $500 million green bond, which achieved a rare negative new-issue concession as investors rewarded the issuer’s coal-to-renewables pivot.
Scotiabank’s Latin America leveraged-finance desk also saw a highly successful review period with tightly priced high-yield and loan executions
On the loan side, Scotiabank coordinated a $344 million green loan for Grenergy’s Oasis de Atacama project, financing Latin America’s largest battery-energy storage development and enabling clean electricity for 145,000 homes.
Beyond corporate borrowers, the bank helped the Government of Barbados turn climate ambition into funding reality through a Bds$596.7 million sustainability-linked debt-for-climate swap – directing debt-service savings to water-resiliency projects.
Scotiabank also brought innovation in the structured capital markets. Acting as joint bookrunner, Scotiabank delivered the $1.49 billion FIEMEX senior secured notes, a first-of-its-kind reserve-based securitisation.
The bank was lead coordinator on the $2.5 billion financing for Engie’s expansion of the Mayakán gas pipeline, blending bank debt, export-credit support and long-dated project bonds to match construction and operating profiles. In Chile, the $817 million Aguas Pacífico desalination plant deal showcased Scotiabank’s ability to mobilise multilateral, commercial bank and institutional liquidity for critical infrastructure.
Scotiabank’s Latin America leveraged-finance desk also saw a highly successful review period with tightly priced high-yield and loan executions. It was lead bookrunner on Sable International’s $1 billion 7.125 % senior secured notes, one of the year’s largest debut bonds from a Peruvian issuer, and sole coordinator on Interceramic’s $665 million leveraged loan package.
By arranging climate-aligned bonds, crafting multi-tranche acquisition financings and pricing debut high-yield issues, Scotiabank repeatedly delivered significant financing impact for Latin America in 2024.
