Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE: BNS), also known as Scotiabank, has a 6.4% dividend yield. That's more than 3 percentage points higher than the average bank stock, using S&P Bank ETF as an industry proxy. There are some reasons for the higher yield, but management is confident that the dividend is safe. Here's why you might want to add this Canadian banking giant to your portfolio.

The core of Scotiabank's business is its Canadian operations. Canada's banking industry is highly regulated, with a handful of giants effectively insulated from competition. Scotiabank is among that elite group, so there's a solid business foundation here. That said, Canada's banking system also tends to be fairly conservative because of all that regulation, a fact that's reflected throughout Scotiabank's operations.

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Source Fool.com