In a conference call with analysts today, Scotiabank executives sketched out plans to build a wholesale banking platform serving the North American Free Trade Agreement region.

The bank revealed that it’s developing an integrated North American wholesale banking platform, utilizing Scotia Capital’s capabilities in Canada and the U.S. and Scotiabank Inverlat’s business in Mexico.

Scotia’s senior executive vice president & chief financial officer Sabi Marwah suggests that it aims to capitalize on cross-selling opportunities to multi-nationals and Mexican clients, with the goal of setting up Scotia Capital as a leading wholesale banker throughout the NAFTA zone.

It points to recent successes in derivatives and advisory services as proof that the continental opportunity exists. And, it suggested that there are particularly opportunities in securitizations, Real Estate Investment Trusts, structured deals, and initial public offerings, as Mexican capital markets expand.

As with the bank’s retail banking strategy, it expects to grow this initiative organically and possibly through acquisition. Scotia Capital chief executive officer David Wilson says that it’s looking for possible acquisitions in industry niches where products could be sold across the NAFTA region. “We’re looking at some things, and some things may happen,” Wilson says. Although he notes it will be following a similar deal discipline as the overall bank.

The bank hasn’t found many acquisition opportunities recently, and analysts question whether there are any that meet its criteria in its foreign markets. Scotia CEO Rick Waugh explains it has looked at many deals, some of them very seriously, but for it to do a deal it must first have a strategic logic, then meet its financial criteria. And, with these hurdles in mind, it will be selective about acquisitions. Waugh suggests the caution is justified seeing as how firms have to live with acquisitions for a long time, and too many don’t work out.

That said, Waugh maintains he’s very excited about Scotia Capital’s NAFTA opportunity, particularly in Mexico. “Mexican capital markets are just beginning to evolve, and evolve very significantly. And if Mexico is going to achieve what we think it can achieve as a country, capital markets have to very much be a part of that,” he says.

He suggests that Scotia hopes to capitalize on that market’s development. “It’s not as exciting as buying a Wall Street investment bank,” Waugh concedes, but he maintains it’s a very attractive opportunity in terms of its growth and return potential.

In the latest quarter, Scotia Capital contributed net income of $239 million, up 18% from the previous year, although down a bit from the previous quarter. ROE was 31.1% in the period.