Bank of the West

Bank of the West operates in the segments of commercial and consumer banking, as well as provides specialized financial and other services. The volume of deposits of the bank, located in San Francisco, is about $89 billion, assets about $105 billion (by December 2021).

History

2021: Bank of Montreal bought Bank of the West for $16.3 billion

On December 20, 2021, BNP Paribas announced that the company agreed to sell Bank of the West for $16.3 billion. It was acquired by Bank of Montreal. In total, the assets of banks will amount to about $870 billion. The deal is expected to close in 2022.

The takeover of Bank of the West will contribute to the expansion of Bank of Montreal in the United States, where from 2019 the bank will seek to expand its presence. BNP Paribas officials said the company remains committed to its corporate and institutional banking business in the country.

Financial giant BNP Paribas sold US bank for $16.3 billion

Bank of Montreal said it plans to repurchase shares to compensate shareholders for the dilution of earnings per share, and will also use the funds received to grow in Europe, invest in technology and acquisitions. Shares of the bank rose 1.1%, ahead of the Euro Stoxx Banks index, which fell about 1%.

Bank of Montreal is the fourth largest bank in Canada. The US division of the bank provides about 38% of the company's revenues, compared with about 28% in 2018, said Bank of Montreal Chief Executive Officer Darryl White at a meeting with investors in early 2021. In the United States, the bank is engaged in commercial activities, retail, asset management and capital markets. The bank said it sees great opportunities for growth in its American fortune management business.

For large Canadian creditors wishing to expand their activities, limited domestic growth opportunities encourage them to seek a way across the southern border. Although large bank mergers have rarely occurred since the 2008 crisis, there were more than ever in 2021, Bloomberg notes.

But US federal financial regulators have expressed interest in curbing the growth of mergers. Democratic members of the board of the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation at the end of October 2021 insisted on revising the rules for the merger of large banks. Representatives of the banking industry fear that such a review by the agency or other regulators, namely the US Federal Reserve System or the US Currency Control Controller Office, could lead to tighter control over large transactions.^[1]

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