BMO Financial Group, and its subsidiaries BMO Financial Corp. and BMO Harris Bank (together, "BMO"), received all regulatory approvals required to complete its acquisition of Bank of the West from BNP Paribas. BMO anticipates the acquisition will close on Feb. 1, 2023, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

"We are excited to be bringing BMO and Bank of the West together to continue building a leading North American bank with a shared focus on progress for our customers, employees, communities and the planet," said Darryl White, CEO, BMO Financial Group.

"We've been providing banking services to BMO customers for over 200 years, helping them make real financial progress, expand their businesses and drive economic growth. We look forward to working with communities across our expanded U.S. footprint to help drive meaningful change at the local level through a strong combination of financial and community-driven investment," said David Casper, U.S. CEO, BMO Financial Group.  

Upon closing, BMO will welcome the nearly 1.8 million commercial, retail, wealth management and business banking customers and provide increased convenience with access to over 1,000 U.S. branches in 32 states and nationwide fee-free access to over 42,000 ATMs. BMO also looks forward to over 9,300 Bank of the West employees joining the BMO family.

After closing and until conversion of the combined banks' systems, expected in early September 2023, customers will continue to receive service through their respective Bank of the West and BMO branches, websites and mobile applications. BMO will provide Bank of the West customers with key information about how the combined bank will serve them, including the plan for the conversion of their accounts.

In addition, BMO Financial Group announced that two new leaders are expected to be appointed to the Board of Directors of BMO's U.S. holding company, BMO Financial Corp., effective as of closing:

• Nandita Bakhshi, currently Director of BancWest Holding Inc. and of Bank of the West. Ms. Bakhshi is also currently President and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of the West and co-Chief Executive Officer and a Director of BNP Paribas USA, Inc. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Grameen America; the Supervisory Board of The Clearing House; The U.S. India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF); and the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Ms. Bakhshi has devoted her career to inclusive, transformational and forward-looking leadership with a particular emphasis on placing women in leadership roles. Ms. Bakhshi will also be appointed Special Advisor on Integration to BMO's Senior Leadership team upon closing.

• Claudia Fan Munce, currently Director of Bank of the West. Ms. Munce retired in 2016 from a distinguished 30-year career at IBM as the Managing Director of the IBM Venture Capital Group and Vice President of IBM Corporate Development. Ms. Munce is a venture advisor at New Enterprise Associates (NEA), sits on the Board of Directors of Best Buy Corporation and Arteris I.P. and is an appointed faculty member at Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

"We look forward to welcoming these two exceptional leaders to our Board of Directors," said John Rau, Chair of the Board, BMO Financial Corp.