Bank of Nova Scotia Building, Havana

Bank of Nova Scotia Building, Havana is a Neoclassical-style bank building located at Calles O´Really and Calles Cuba in Old Havana.

Bank of Nova Scotia Building
General information
Status	Occupied
Type	Bank-office
Architectural style	Neoclassical
Location	Habana Vieja
Address	Calles O´Really y Cuba
Town or city	Ciudad de La Habana
Country	Cuba
Coordinates	23°08′22.82″N 82°21′8.28″W
Estimated completion	1906
Renovated	2014
Technical details
Structural system	Steel frame
Floor count	4
Website
www.scotiabank.com/global/en/country/cuba.html

Built in 1906, the building was branch and business offices for Canadian-based Bank of Nova Scotia in the early 20th century. Additional floors were added in 1914 to the original two floor building. It also served as a Scotiabank's branch in Havana and sold to a local bank Banco Metropolitano S.A. (founded 1996).[1]

Once one of the most important foreign banks in Cuba, Scotiabank is one the few Canadian banks and foreign banks allowed to retain offices in the country after 1959.[1] Today Scotiabank focus on business banking (after approval in 2011[2]) and no longer operates banking branches (ceased in 1959 when all non-Cuban banks closed operations and transferred to Banco Nacional de Cuba) in Cuba.[3][4]

Rival Royal Bank of Canada operated in Cuba from 1899 with 24 branches (from high of 65 in the 1920s) when it was forced to sell their operations in 1960.[5] A former branch building in Havana and is being renovated since 2012 after sitting vacant[6]