Bank of Montreal

Three years after acquiring Bank of the West, BMO is preparing to open 130 branches in the Golden State, where it thinks it can achieve density and critical mass. The Toronto-based bank also plans to open 15 branches in Arizona.

At an industry conference Tuesday, bankers said that an extended war with Iran will result in adverse economic conditions, including inflation.

BMO moved closer to hitting company-wide and U.S. profit targets after reporting increased first-quarter profits.

The Canadian bank is determined to grow its U.S. business organically, CEO Darryl White said Thursday. But with so much excess capital, analysts wondered about the bank's appetite for M&A.

The Montreal-based bank brought its earned media value up to $1 million by building an internal system for employees to share social posts about BMO.

Oresar, who joined BMO as head of treasury and payment solutions sales after more than two decades at JPMorgan Payments, spoke with American Banker about her priorities leading a new team; the importance of organic mentorship; and what clients are asking for to keep up with the fast-paced change that's happening to the payments industry.

The Canadian bank plans to sell the branches, which are mostly in the Midwest and Great Plains, to First Citizens Bank in North Carolina. At the same time, it plans to build 150 branches over the next five years in markets with longer-term growth prospects.

Booth, who is BMO's head of U.S. personal and business banking, talked about how soccer has been at the center of the bank's marketing push in California.

The Toronto-based bank named Rahul Nalgirkar as incoming finance chief. Nalgirkar, who joined BMO in 2022 from Fifth Third, will succeed the retiring Tayfun Tuzun, who came to BMO in 2020 after working at Fifth Third.

Aron Levine, the Canadian bank's new U.S. president, said BMO intends to invest in technology and spend more on branches. The company's moves, which also include the recent combination of its U.S. businesses, are part of a plan to boost its return on equity.

The Toronto-based bank said that Aron Levine will become group head and president of BMO U.S. It also announced the upcoming retirement of Ernie Johannson, head of North American personal and business banking.

BMO Financial Group has sold a U.S. credit card portfolio and exited a franchise loan portfolio as part of an effort to achieve a return on equity of at least 12% in its U.S. business.

Bank of Montreal in its fiscal second quarter set aside more money to cover loans that are still in good standing, highlighting concern about the fate of the North American economy.

The third-largest Canadian bank by assets is preparing itself and clients for the Trump administration's proposed 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

Bank of Montreal dismissed a managing director on its US mortgage-backed bond desk in connection with a regulatory probe into misleading marketing practices.

The Toronto-based bank set aside CA$1.5 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter to cover potentially bad loans. Executives say higher-than-normal impaired losses could persist next year.

Our annual list of the top five teams in banking.

When BMO acquired Bank of the West, BMO's integration team was tasked with completing more than 1,500 requirements to unify hundreds of systems, including products, services, technology and processes.

 Johannson led the successful integration of one of the largest U.S. banking acquisitions last year with the acquisition of Bank of the West.

In a new lawsuit, a former BMO employee says he was fired because he reported his concern that the bank was intentionally charging too much to clients who used a foreign-exchange product. BMO denies the allegations.