The Financial Post reports in its Wednesday edition that Bank of Nova Scotia plans to underwrite local bonds in Brazil and offer cash-management services there as it expands in Latin America's biggest country. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post quotes Scotiabank's country head Paulo Bernardo saying, "We are in a new moment, a ramp-up moment." Brazil's local bond market is booming amid still-elevated interest rates. Total issuance reached 80.5 billion reais ($16-billion (U.S.)) year-to-date -- a 69-per-cent increase over the same period last year. Banco Itau BBA and Banco BTG Pactual are the top two underwriters. Scotiabank plans to enter the market underwriting debentures. Scotiabank is hiring three executives in Brazil -- a senior investment banker, a head for equity sales and a research analyst -- to join a group of about 105 employees. It plans to continue hiring in the country, and to increase its offerings of products and platforms in Canada and the United States to Brazilian clients. The bank also has a goal to boost investments from North America to Brazil. As of now, the bank has 3.2 billion reais ($640-million (U.S.)) of capital in Brazil and still has space to grow while meeting capital requirements.