BMO Financial Group, and its indirect wholly-owned Chicago-based subsidiary BMO Harris Bank N.A., signed a definitive agreement with BNP Paribas to acquire Bank of the West and its subsidiaries, with assets as of Sept. 30, 2021 of $105 billion.
Under the terms of the agreement, BMO will acquire Bank of the West for a cash purchase price of $16.3 billion The transaction, which has been approved by the BMO and BNP Paribas boards of directors, is expected to close by the end of calendar 2022, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Upon closing, BMO intends to merge Bank of the West into BMO Harris Bank N.A.
Founded in 1874, Bank of the West has strong positions in specialized financing activities, such as RV, marine and agribusiness. BMO stated the acquisition enables contiguous market expansion, acceleration of BMO’s commercial banking and highly competitive scaled entry into California.
With 70% of Bank of the West’s deposits in California, BMO is making a scaled entry to California.
Darryl White, BMO Financial Group CEO, said the company has performed well in North America, which presents a good position for the company to continue growth and seek new customers.
“This acquisition will add meaningful scale, expansion in attractive markets, and capabilities that will enable us to drive greater growth, returns and efficiencies,” White said. “We will deliver a highly competitive offering to new growth markets, combining the strength of our digital banking platform and a strong team of bankers to generate leading customer growth.”
Nandita Bakhshi, Bank of the West CEO, said she is excited for the opportunity.
“Bank of the West’s presence in many of the largest and fastest-growing markets in the U.S. provides an ideal and complementary commercial and retail banking platform to fuel BMO’s growth,” Bakhshi said. “Combined with BMO’s suite of products and capabilities we will be able to help even more customers achieve real financial progress. Our team of dedicated commercial and business bankers will be a great fit with BMO, working on creative solutions to match individual needs.”
