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There’s “lots of opportunity to do that,” Porter said.

Annual earnings from Scotia’s international division topped $2 billion for the first time, and the bank maintained its earnings growth target of nine to 11 per cent for the Pacific Alliance countries.

Executives said they believe the market is overreacting to concerns about Mexico following Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election in the United States. Trump’s campaign focussed on tearing up international trade agreements to build up American industry.

“I think the market is discounting a bigger impact in Mexico than what we think is realistic. We remain confident,” Sean McGuckin, Scotia’s chief financial officer, said Tuesday following the analyst call.

“The trade between Canada and the U.S. and Mexico is so interlinked, it’s hard to see how that’s going to change,” he added. “Maybe there’s eventually going to be a higher tariff put on but we still see Mexico as a key element of exports into the U.S.”

For the fourth quarter, which ended Oct. 31, Scotia posted overall earnings of $2.01 billion, up from $1.84 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share of $1.58 per share in the quarter beat analyst expectations of $1.51.

Revenue for the quarter rose to $6.75 billion from $6.13 billion.

The bank reported lower provisions for credit losses in the fourth quarter as oil concerns eased, and executives said they expect cumulative losses, which now stand at 2.1 per cent, to come in below the low end of an earlier estimate of three per cent to 3.5 per cent.