BMO completes acquisition of Bank of the West

TORONTO Y CHICAGO, February 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ – BMO Financial Group (TSX: BMO) (NYSE: BMO), and its subsidiaries BMO Financial Corp. and BMO Harris Bank NA (together, “BMO”), announced today that they have completed the acquisition of Bank of the West from BNP Paribas (XPAR: BNP).

BMO’s acquisition of Bank of the West brings nearly 1.8 million customers to BMO and expands its banking presence through more than 500 additional branches and commercial and property offices in key US growth markets such as the 8^the largest bank in North America By assets, BMO now has a strong position in three of the top five US markets, a presence in 32 states, expanded national specialty merchant businesses, and a digital banking platform that helps clients achieve real financial progress in all 50 states.

Until the conversion of the banking systems, scheduled for the beginning September 2023, customers will continue to be served through their respective BMO and Bank of the West branches, websites and mobile apps. In the coming months, BMO will provide Bank of the West customers with key information about how the combined bank will serve them, including the plan for converting their accounts.

More information is available at: BMO receives regulatory approval to acquire Bank of the West

About BMO Financial Group

Serving clients for 200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial services provider: the eighth largest bank, by assets, in North America. With total assets of 1.14 trillion Canadian dollars from October 31, 2022and a team of highly committed and diverse employees, BMO offers a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal Banking and commercial, BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements. All such statements are made in accordance with the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and any applicable Canadian securities legislation, and are intended to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this document may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the plans for the combined operations of BMO and Bank of the West, and the financial, operating and capital impacts of the transaction, and include statements made by our management. Forward-looking statements are generally identified with words such as “will”, “should”, “should”, “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “project”, “intend”, “estimate”, “plan”, ” target,” “engage,” “target,” “may,” “may,” “schedule,” “forecast,” and “could” or negative or grammatical variations thereof.

By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific in nature. There is a significant risk that any predictions, forecasts, conclusions or projections may not turn out to be accurate, that our assumptions may not be correct, and that actual results may differ materially from such predictions, forecasts, conclusions or projections. We caution readers of this document not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, as a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control and the effects of which may be difficult to predict, could cause results, conditions, actions or events. to differ materially from the objectives, expectations, estimates or intentions expressed in any forward-looking statements.

Future results relating to forward-looking statements may be influenced by many factors, including, but not limited to: the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction, such as the growth of our US operations as a result of changes in economic conditions market and interest rates, exchange rates, monetary policy, laws and regulations (including changes in capital requirements) and their application, and the degree of competition in the geographic and business areas in which Bank of the West operates now; Bank of the West’s business may not perform as expected or consistent with historical performance; the ability to quickly and effectively integrate Bank of the West; deviation of management time in issues related to the integration of transactions; greater exposure to exchange rate fluctuations; and those other factors mentioned in the Risks section that may affect future results, and the sections related to credit and counterparty risk, market, insurance, liquidity and financing, non-financial operating, legal and regulatory, strategic, environmental and social and reputational. , in the Company-Wide Risk Management section of the BMO 2022 Annual Report, all of which describe certain key factors and risks that may affect our future results and our ability to effectively anticipate and manage risks arising from all previous factors. We caution that the above list is not exhaustive of all possible factors. Other factors and risks could adversely affect our results. Investors and others should carefully consider these factors and risks, as well as other uncertainties and potential events, and the inherent uncertainty of forward-looking statements.

We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that the organization or on behalf of the organization may make from time to time, except as required by law. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is presented for the purpose of assisting shareholders and analysts in understanding the proposed transaction and may not be suitable for other purposes.

SOURCE BMO Financial Group