At the Bank of Canada, Perrault was assistant chief of the Canadian projections and policy analysis division. He has also held roles at Canada's department of finance and served as a senior economist at the World Bank.

Perrault will replace current chief economist Warren Jestin, who has been with the bank for almost 40 years and will retire in March next year.

In his new role, Perrault will be responsible for providing Scotiabank's senior executives, partners and customers with economic perspectives, insights and forecasts. He will report to Sean McGuckin, group head and chief financial officer.

“Jean-François' in-depth analytical knowledge on a wide range of economic and fiscal issues, along with his extensive experience will be a tremendous asset to Scotiabank,” said Sean McGuckin, Group Head and Chief Financial Officer at Scotiabank. 

“I'd also like to thank Warren Jestin for leading the Scotiabank Economics team as Senior Vice President and Chief Economist for the past 25 years and acting as an Ambassador for Scotiabank around the globe.”

Scotiabank provides services including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. As of the end of October, it had assets of $856 billion.