The Financial Post reports in its Wednesday edition Scotiabank's key focus this year will be increasing its presence in Latin America and expanding its customer base, its chief executive officer said Tuesday. A Canadian Press dispatch to the Post quotes CEO Brian Porter as saying Bank of Nova Scotia wants to sharpen its focus on its chosen markets of Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Chile. When he was tapped for the top job last year, Mr. Porter had suggested he would look within the bank's existing footprint in Latin America and Asia when looking for acquisitions and not expand into places like Africa or Europe. However, there was no talk at the bank's annual meeting in Kelowna, B.C., of a focus on Asia, where Scotiabank had been building operations. It had previously announced a fund management venture with the Bank of Beijing to operate in China, and pursued a deal with the Bank of Guangzhou -- a deal that eventually fell through. Mr. Porter also restated the bank's push to focus on credit cards. "In an increasingly competitive environment, credit cards allow us to better serve existing customers and attract new ones," he said. "They also provide us with an attractive risk-adjusted return."