Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO), Canada's fourth-largest bank, is acquiring the San Francisco-based Bank of the West from BNP Paribas (OTC:BNPQY) in a $16.3 billion cash transaction.
What Happened: The Montreal-headquartered BMO said the transaction add nearly 1.8 million customers to its client roster while expanding its banking presence with 514 additional branches and commercial and wealth offices.
Bank of the West was founded in 1874 as Farmers National Gold Bank and currently has approximately $105 billion in assets. Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) acquired Bank of the West in 1979, while BNP merged with Paribas in 2000.
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Why It Matters: In a press statement, BMO added that when the transaction is completed, it "will have a strong position in three of the top five U.S. markets, a footprint in 32 states, expanded national specialty commercial businesses and a digital banking platform gathering deposits in all 50 states."
Nearly 70% of its deposits are in California, where BMO did not have a presence.
Daryl White, CEO of BMO Financial Group, stated the acquisition would "add meaningful scale, expansion in attractive markets, and capabilities that will enable us to drive greater growth, returns and efficiencies. 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."
Photo: Ken Teegardin / Flickr Creative Commons