The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, Dec. 4, edition that RBC Dominion Securities analyst Darko Mihelic has reaffirmed his "sector perform" recommendation for Bank of Nova Scotia. The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Mihelic gave his share target an $11 boost to $97. Analysts on average target the shares at $98.34. Mr. Mihelic says in a note: "The bank expects to generate 'strong' earnings growth in 2026 excluding the impact of divestitures, benefiting from lower provisions for credit losses (PCLs) partially offset by a higher tax rate. The bank suggested revenue growth, excluding the impact of divestitures, will be driven by growth in both net interest income (NII) and non-interest revenue. Scotiabank expects higher net interest income to be driven by both loan and deposit growth and net interest margin (NIM) expansion and expects non-interest revenue to grow across all business segments. The bank also expects modest expense growth, excluding the impact of divestitures, as it expects technology spend will be partly offset by the benefit from productivity initiatives. Scotiabank expects to generate positive operating leverage in 2026."