Bank of Montreal Selling 138 U.S. Branches, to Open 150 New Sites Largely in California

By Robb M. Stewart

Bank of Montreal is selling a swath of bank branches across the U.S. but plans to open new sites where it sees greater long-term growth potential.

The bank, one of a handful of big lenders that together control most of Canada's banking assets, said Thursday it signed a definitive agreement to sell 138 BMO branches to First-Citizens Bank & Trust, the banking subsidiary of First Citizens BancShares. In parallel it plans to open 150 new branches over five years where it says it can build critical mass, and which it said will be California-centric but not limited to the state.

The Montreal-based bank said the branches being sold to First-Citizens Bank include sites in North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Idaho, as well as select branches in western Minnesota, one branch in eastern Oregon and one branch in southern Illinois. First-Citizens Bank will assume about $5.7 billion in deposits and acquire about $1.1 billion in loans, said BMO.

Bank of Montreal said the new branches slated to open will build on its established operations in personal and business banking, commercial banking and wealth management.

The Canadian bank roughly two years ago expanded its U.S. footprint when it bought California-based Bank of the West in a roughly $16 billion deal that positioned it as one of the largest banks in North America by assets and added nearly 1.8 million customers and more than 500 branches and offices.

Bank of Montreal said it will record a charge related to goodwill of about $75 million in the final quarter of 2025. When the sale of the branches closes, it expects to record a tax expense of about $85 million, it said. The effect on its common equity Tier 1 capital ratio isn't forecast to be material, BMO added.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in mid-2026.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 16, 2025 07:25 ET (11:25 GMT)