Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of Nova Scotia, Canada's third- largest bank by assets, named Chief Administrative Officer Sabi Marwah as vice-chairman and chief operating officer as part of a series of promotions.

Marwah, 57, has been with the Toronto-based bank since 1979 and replaces Bob Brooks, who is scheduled to retire today, Scotiabank said today in a statement. Scotiabank also promoted Chief Risk Officer Brian Porter to head the bank's risk and treasury department, and named senior vice-president Stephen Hart executive vice-president and chief credit officer.

Scotiabank faces a decline in profit for the fiscal quarter that ends today, as loan losses climb and capital markets revenue shrinks. The stock was cut to ``sell'' from ``neutral'' this week by Dundee Securities Corp. analyst John Aiken.

``We are confident that these changes to our executive team and this structure represent the right approach to ensuring continued strong leadership,'' said Chief Executive Officer Richard Waugh.

In his new role, Marwah will report to Waugh and will oversee corporate insurance, investments and economics in addition to his current responsibilities.

The bank said in August that quarterly profit declined for the third straight period because of higher provisions for bad loans. Scotiabank is scheduled to report fiscal fourth-quarter results on Dec. 2.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sean B. Pasternak in Toronto at spasternak@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 31, 2008 10:42 EDT