Risks Relating to Hedging Activities and Conflicts of Interest
■Hedging activities by BNS and SCUSA may negatively impact investors in the securities and cause our respective interests and those of our clients and counterparties to be contrary to those of investors in the securities. We, SCUSA or one or more of our other affiliates has hedged or expects to hedge our obligations under the securities. Such hedging transactions may include entering into swap or similar agreements, purchasing the underlying shares, the underlying constituent stocks and/or purchasing futures, options and/or other instruments linked to the underlying shares and/or one or more of the underlying constituent stocks. We, SCUSA or one or more of our other affiliates also expects to adjust the hedge by, among other things, purchasing or selling any of the foregoing, and perhaps other instruments linked to the underlying shares and/or one or more of the underlying constituent stocks, at any time and from time to time, and to unwind the hedge by selling any of the foregoing on or before the final determination date. We, SCUSA or one or more of our other affiliates may also enter into, adjust and unwind hedging transactions relating to other basket- or equity-linked securities whose returns are linked to changes in the price of the underlying shares and/or one or more of the underlying constituent stocks. Any of these hedging activities may adversely affect the price of the underlying shares — directly or indirectly by affecting the price of the underlying constituent stocks — and therefore the market value of the securities and the amount you will receive, if any, on the securities.
You should expect that these transactions will cause BNS, SCUSA or our other affiliates, or our clients or counterparties, to have economic interests and incentives that do not align with, and that may be directly contrary to, those of an investor in the securities. None of BNS, SCUSA or any of our other affiliates will have any obligation to take, refrain from taking or cease taking any action with respect to these transactions based on the potential effect on an investor in the securities, and any of the foregoing may receive substantial returns with respect to these hedging activities while the value of, and return on, the securities declines.
■The calculation agent can make antidilution and other adjustments that may adversely affect the market value of, and any amounts payable on, the securities. For antidilution and certain other events affecting the underlying shares, the calculation agent may make adjustments to the initial share price, share performance factor, call threshold price, downside threshold price, closing price and/or final share price, as applicable, and any other term of the securities. However, the calculation agent will not make an adjustment in response to every corporate event that could affect the underlying shares. If an event occurs that does not require the calculation agent to make an adjustment, the market value of, and any payment on, the securities may be materially and adversely affected. In addition, all determinations and calculations concerning any such adjustments will be made by the calculation agent. You should be aware that the calculation agent may make any such adjustment, determination or calculation in a manner that differs from that discussed in the accompanying product supplement or this document as necessary to achieve an equitable result. The occurrence of any antidilution or reorganization event and the consequent adjustments may materially and adversely affect the value of, and any amounts payable on, the securities.
Following a de-listing, liquidation or termination of the underlying shares, the payment at maturity may be based on a share of another exchange-traded fund or calculated by a computation methodology that the calculation agent determines will as closely as reasonably possible replicate the underlying shares. For more information, see the section under “General Terms of the Notes — Unavailability of the Closing Value of a Reference Asset; Adjustments to a Reference Asset — Adjustments to a Reference ETF” in the accompanying product supplement.
■We, SCUSA and our other affiliates regularly provide services to, or otherwise have business relationships with, a broad client base, which has included and may include us, the index sponsor, the sponsor and/or the underlying constituent stock issuers and the market activities by us, SCUSA or our other affiliates for our or their own respective accounts or for our clients could negatively impact investors in the securities. We, SCUSA and our other affiliates regularly provide a wide range of financial services, including financial advisory, investment advisory and transactional services to a substantial and diversified client base. As such, we each may act as an investor, investment banker, research provider, investment manager, investment advisor, market maker, trader, prime broker or lender. In those and other capacities, we, SCUSA and/or our other affiliates purchase, sell or hold a broad array of investments, actively trade securities (including the securities or other securities that we have issued), the underlying shares the underlying constituent stocks, derivatives, loans, credit default swaps, indices, baskets and other financial instruments and products for our or their own respective accounts or for the accounts of our customers, and we will have other direct or indirect interests, in those securities and in other markets that may not be consistent with your interests and may adversely affect the price of the underlying shares and/or the value of the securities. You should assume that we or they will, at present or in the future, provide such services or otherwise engage in transactions with, among others, us, the index sponsor, the sponsor and/or the underlying constituent stock issuers, or transact in securities or instruments or with parties that are directly or indirectly related to these entities. These services could include making loans to or equity investments in those companies, providing financial advisory or other investment banking services, or issuing research reports. Any of these financial market activities may, individually or in the aggregate, have an adverse effect on the price of the underlying shares and the market for your securities, and you should expect that our interests and those of SCUSA and/or our other affiliates, clients or counterparties, will at times be adverse to those of investors in the securities.
You should expect that we, SCUSA, and our other affiliates, in providing these services, engaging in such transactions, or acting for our or their own respective accounts, may take actions that have direct or indirect effects on the securities or other securities that we may issue, the underlying shares, the underlying constituent stocks, or other securities or instruments similar to or linked to the foregoing, and that such actions could be adverse to the interests of investors in the securities. In addition, in connection with these activities, certain personnel within us, SCUSA or our other affiliates may have access to confidential material non-public information about these parties that would not be disclosed to investors in the securities.