Federal Reserve Board Approves Bank of Nova Scotia's Application to Acquire Maple Financial Holdings and MapleMark Bank
Key Takeaways
- •The Federal Reserve Board approved The Bank of Nova Scotia's application to become a bank holding company on October 29, 2026.
- •Through the approved transaction, Scotiabank will acquire Maple Financial Holdings, Inc., a Dallas, Texas-based holding company.
- •As a result of acquiring the holding company, Scotiabank will indirectly gain control of MapleMark Bank in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
- •The approval represents the federal clearance generally required under the U.S. Bank Holding Company Act before control of a U.S. bank can change hands.
- •The board published a written order explaining its decision along with a record of the vote on its website.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday, October 29, 2026, announced its approval of the application by The Bank of Nova Scotia, of Toronto, Canada, to become a bank holding company by acquiring Maple Financial Holdings, Inc., of Dallas, Texas. Through the same transaction, the board said, the Canadian bank will also indirectly acquire MapleMark Bank, of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The approval is the federal clearance that U.S. law generally requires before control of a U.S. bank can change hands through a holding-company acquisition, making the board's action the key regulatory step in a cross-border transaction of this kind.
The announcement was designated for release at 4:30 p.m. EDT. The board's decision is set out in a written order (PDF), and a record of how board members voted on the application is published on the Federal Reserve's Board Votes page. For readers following the transaction, the order and the vote record together form the public paper trail — the documents to watch for the board's reasoning and the makeup of its vote.
For media inquiries, the board directed reporters to email [email protected] or call (202) 452-2955.
Background
The Bank of Nova Scotia, commonly known as Scotiabank, is one of Canada's largest banks. Founded in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1832 — a history spanning nearly two centuries — it is headquartered in Toronto and conducts banking operations internationally.
In the application approved on Thursday, Maple Financial Holdings, Inc., is identified as a company based in Dallas, Texas, with MapleMark Bank located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. By acquiring the holding company, The Bank of Nova Scotia will indirectly acquire the Oklahoma bank; the holding-company structure is what makes the bank ownership indirect, with control flowing from parent to subsidiary.
Under the U.S. Bank Holding Company Act, a company generally must obtain the approval of the Federal Reserve — the U.S. central bank — before it can become a bank holding company or acquire control of a U.S. bank. The board routinely publishes its decisions on such applications, together with the written order explaining its action and a record of the vote, a transparency practice that lets the public review the basis for each decision.
The announcement is available on the Federal Reserve's website: Federal Reserve Board press release.
