The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.
(Questions from industry analysts are provided in full, but answers are omitted - download the transcript to see the full question-and-answer session)
Question: Gabriel Dechaine - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst
: I expect a lot of questions on Chile. So I want to ask one about Canada, the outlook for that business. I think you said the low- to mid-single-digit
growth. And I'm hoping you can kind of paint the picture on how you get there. Asset growth has looked pretty good in Canada, margin performance
pretty stable, but the bottom line just -- is flattish this year, even if we exclude the real estate gains in the prior year. I'm just trying to figure out
what are going to be the key drivers to get that business pumping again, especially because the -- looks like you did hold back on expenses. So
how does improving operational efficiencies come into play?
Question: Gabriel Dechaine - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst
: If I can just sneak one on Mexico. Few of the bigger banks in the country, they cut their loan growth expectations. I know there's business mix and
loan mix differences that might influence that. If you can tell me what's going on, on the ground there and how it informs your outlook in Mexico.
Question: Sohrab Movahedi - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst
: Raj, sorry to keep you on the spot. I just wanted to clarify a couple of things. On the presentation deck, adjusted net income total bank for full year
$9.4 billion or thereabouts. And what you're telling us and you'll give us a bit more specific details, I guess, after the Investor Day, but you're saying
that included in that would be somewhere between $300 million to $400 million, depending on what the variability of the contribution in Thanachart
is for 2019. Is that fair?
Question: Sohrab Movahedi - BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst
: And when Brian is talking about organic growth for the bank in the overall mid-single-digit, it would be off of that, call it, $9.4 billion net of the
$400 million, conservatively speaking, to exclude some of these things that have yet to close. We don't have the specifics on, but you're saying,
look, probably a good starting point as far as basis for comparison for 2020 is about $9 billion plus or minus in total bank earnings?
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