(Adds response from bank spokeswoman, further background detail.)     By Monica Gutschi and Robert Kozak    Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES  

TORONTO -(Dow Jones)- Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) (BNS) is expected to announce Thursday that it is buying a private pension fund in Peru, its third acquisition in that country this year.

The Canadian bank is said to be purchasing a controlling stake in AFP ProFuturo, a fund whose principal shareholder is Citibank's (NYSE:C) (C) Overseas Investment Corp., according to people close to the matter.

A spokeswoman for Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) declined comment.

Owned mainly by foreign investors, the private pension funds, or AFPs, have become influential players in Peru's financial markets since they began operating in 1993.

Aside from ProFuturo, the AFPs that operate in Peru are: AFP Horizonte, owned mainly by Holding Continental and Spain's Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBV) (BBV); AFP Integra, mainly owned by the ING Groep (ING); and AFP Prima, which is controlled by Credicorp Ltd. (NYSE:BAP) (BAP).

The latest move by Scotiabank (NYSE:BNS) will further expand its presence in Peru and give it a foothold in private money management, a new area of business.

The bank has operated in Peru since 1997 but has significantly increased its interests in that country in recent years. In 2005, it combined Banco Wiese Sudameris and Banco Sudamericano to form Scotiabank Peru, which became the country's third-largest bank.

In May, it purchased the shares that Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. held in Scotiabank Peru, boosting its ownership to 98% from 78%. And later that month, the bank acquired a 100% stake in Banco del Trabajo, the ninth-largest commercial bank in Peru. That transaction gives Scotiabank (NYSE:BNS) a significant presence in consumer finance and microlending in the country.

In a presentation on Peru the bank prepared last year before its latest expansion, it noted it had 1.08 million customers in the country. That compares to 1.64 million in Mexico, where it owns Scotiabank Inverlat, that country's sixth-largest bank, and 1.59 million in all of the English-speaking Caribbean.

According to news reports in Peruvian newspapers, Scotiabank (NYSE:BNS) is expected to pay between US$35 million and US$45 million for a minimum 51% of AFP ProFuturo. Citibank (NYSE:C) is expected to divest itself of its 42.2% stake in the pension fund, while the remainder is expected to be acquired from Corporacion Cervesur.

Company Web Site: http://www.scotiabank.com

-Monica Gutschi, Dow Jones Newswires; 416-306-2017; monica.gutschi@ dowjones.com

    (END) Dow Jones Newswires   06-18-08 1818   Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.