BFST vs BNS

Business First Bancshares Inc.

Business First Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for b1BANK that provides various banking products and services. It offers various deposit products and services, including a range of checking, demand, money market, time, and savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; and remote deposit capture and direct deposit services. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans, including commercial lines of credit, working capital loans, term loans, equipment financing, asset acquisition, expansion and development loans, borrowing base loans, letters of credit, and other loan products; construction and development loans; commercial real estate loans; residential real estate loans comprising first and second lien 1-4 family mortgage loans, and home equity lines of credit; and consumer loans, including secured and unsecured installment and term loans. In addition, it offers wealth management products, including mutual funds, annuities, individual retirement accounts, and other financial products. Further, the company provides a range of other financial services comprising drive-through banking facilities, automated teller machines, debit and credit cards, and employee and payroll benefits solutions; and night depository, personalized checks, treasury and cash management, merchant, automated clearing house, electronic funds transfer, domestic and foreign wire transfer, traveler's checks, vault, loan and deposit sweep accounts, lock-box, receivables factoring, correspondent banking, online and mobile banking, e-statements, and bank-by-mail services. The company operates approximately 42 full-service banking centers located in the State of Louisiana and in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. Business First Bancshares, Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Bank Nova Scotia Halifax Pfd 3

The Bank of Nova Scotia provides various banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, and internationally. It operates through Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Banking and Markets, and Global Wealth Management segments. The company offers financial advice and solutions, and day-to-day banking products, including debit and credit cards, chequing and saving accounts, investments, mortgages, loans, and insurance to individuals; and business banking solutions comprising lending, deposit, cash management, and trade finance solutions to small businesses and commercial customers, including automotive financing solutions to dealers and their customers. It also provides wealth management advice and solutions, including online brokerage, mobile investment, full-service brokerage, trust, private banking, and private investment counsel services; and retail mutual funds, exchange traded funds, liquid alternative funds, and institutional funds. In addition, the company offers international banking services for retail, corporate, and commercial customers; and lending and transaction, investment banking advisory, and capital markets access services to corporate customers. Further, it provides Internet, mobile, and telephone banking services. The company operates a network of 952 branches and approximately 3,540 automated banking machines in Canada; and approximately 1,400 branches, 5,200 ATMs, and 22 contact centers internationally. The Bank of Nova Scotia was founded in 1832 and is headquartered in Halifax, Canada.