TORONTO (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 6, 2008--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today said its ratings and outlook on The Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank; AA-/Stable/A-1+) remain unchanged following Scotiabank's announcement to acquire Sun Life Financial Inc.'s (AA-/Stable/A-1+) 37% interest in CI Financial for a total cash consideration of approximately C$2.3 billion. We believe the investment is strategically consistent with the bank's goal to increase its presence in the wealth management field in Canada, which, historically, has been one of Scotiabank's soft spots. CI Financial holds a No. 3 market position in mutual funds in Canada by assets under management. The transaction will immediately add to earnings diversification and consume 47 basis points of the bank's Tier 1 capital. Scotiabank's Tier
