Megan Brooks
Bank of the West, founded in 1874 in San Jose, California, was acquired by BMO Financial Group in February 2023. BMO, short for Bank of Montreal, is a Canadian banking group and the 8th largest bank in North America by assets. The acquisition of Bank of the West was intended to be absorbed into BMO's U.S. subsidiary, BMO Harris Bank, nearly doubling BMO's total presence in the United States. The deal, worth $16.3 billion, involved BMO taking on nearly 1.8 million customers and expanding its physical presence through more than 500 additional branches. The transition process included technological challenges, such as converting customer files and integrating Bank of the West data into BMO's systems. Despite the acquisition, Bank of the West branches, including those on the UC Berkeley campus, continued to remain open under the BMO brand.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of acquisition by BMO | February 2023 |
| Bank of the West's previous owner | BNP Paribas |
| Number of customers acquired by BMO | 1.8 million |
| Number of additional branches acquired by BMO | 500+ |
| Number of states BMO has a footprint in after acquisition | 32 |
| Number of jobs cut in California | 228 |
| Number of jobs cut at Bank of the West's former headquarters | 28 |
| Number of jobs cut at the bank's San Ramon office | 200 |
| BMO's total assets as of October 31, 2022 | C$1.14 trillion |
| Number of BMO customers before acquisition | 12 million |
| Year Bank of the West was founded | 1874 |
| Bank of the West's original name | Farmers National Gold Bank of San Jose |
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What You'll Learn
BMO acquires Bank of the West
BMO Completes Acquisition of Bank of the West
BMO Financial Group, along with its subsidiaries BMO Financial Corp. and BMO Harris Bank N.A., announced on February 1, 2023, that it had completed the acquisition of Bank of the West from BNP Paribas. BMO's acquisition of Bank of the West brings nearly 1.8 million customers to BMO and extends its banking presence through more than 500 additional branches and commercial and wealth offices in key U.S. growth markets.
The acquisition cost BMO US$16.3 billion, or US$13.4 billion net of the estimated US$2.9 billion of excess capital at Bank of the West. BMO funded the transaction primarily through excess capital on the combined entities' balance sheets, including an estimated C$3.8 billion from Bank of the West and C$13.5 billion from BMO. BMO also intends to introduce a 2% discount on shares issued under its dividend reinvestment plan and expects to raise approximately C$2.7 billion of common equity prior to the closing date.
BMO plans to merge Bank of the West with its existing U.S. subsidiary BMO Harris Bank, which will at least double BMO's total presence in the United States. BMO now has 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. BMO will not close any Bank of the West branches and is committed to retaining front-line branch employees.
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 the conversion of their accounts. Until the conversion of the banks' systems, expected in early September 2023, customers will continue to be served through their respective BMO and Bank of the West branches, websites, and mobile applications.
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Bank of the West's history
Bank of the West was founded in 1874 in San Jose, California, as the Farmers National Gold Bank of San Jose. In 1880, when all bank notes became convertible to gold or silver, the bank converted from a gold national bank and changed its name to the First National Bank of San Jose, California. In 1970, Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) established the French Bank of California. BNP bought Bank of the West in 1979 and merged it with the French Bank of California. The bank owned 35 locations and $350 million in assets.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Bank of the West continued to expand by acquiring several other banks and branches. In 1987, it bought Bank of Los Gatos. In 1990, it purchased Central Banking Systems, followed by 30 branches in northern California from Imperial Savings and Loan in 1991. In 1992, it acquired Atlantic Financial Federal Savings Bank from the Resolution Trust Corporation. In 1993, it purchased 15 branches in northern California from Citibank for $360 million. In 1995, it bought NorthBay Savings Bank, headquartered in Petaluma, California, and in 1997, it acquired branches from Bank of America and Coast Federal Bank. In 1999, Bank of the West bought Truckee-based Sierra West Bancorp, which was founded in 1981 and had 20 branches. In 2001, as part of the regulatory approval process with Wells Fargo Bank's acquisition of First Security Corp., Bank of the West acquired 23 First Security branches in New Mexico and seven in Nevada to avoid antitrust issues.
In December 2005, Bank of the West expanded further by acquiring Commercial Federal Corporation of Omaha, Nebraska, adding offices in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. In January 2006, it opened a representative office in Tokyo, Japan, and in September 2007, it established a presence in Taipei, Taiwan. In 2015, Bank of the West began its partnership with UC Berkeley, which lasted until September 2023.
In December 2021, BNP Paribas agreed to sell Bank of the West to the Canadian banking group BMO Financial Group for $16.3 billion. BMO announced its plan to merge Bank of the West with its existing U.S. subsidiary BMO Harris Bank, which would significantly increase BMO's presence in the United States. The acquisition was completed in February 2023, bringing nearly 1.8 million customers to BMO and extending its banking presence through more than 500 additional branches in key U.S. growth markets. The Bank of the West brand was retired, and all accounts and branches were converted and merged into the renamed BMO Bank, N.A. by September 5, 2023. BMO continues to work on integrating Bank of the West's data and technology into its systems.
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BMO's technological integration
BMO's acquisition of Bank of the West was a significant undertaking, bringing nearly 1.8 million customers to BMO and extending its banking presence through over 500 additional branches. This posed a challenge for BMO, which had to integrate Bank of the West's data and technology into its own.
BMO had to complete over 25,000 tasks to integrate Bank of the West's data, including converting customer files. BMO also had to double its mainframe capacity and prepare a cloud staging platform to handle the increased data load. The technological integration was further complicated by the fact that, prior to the acquisition, BMO and Bank of the West were competitors and so were not able to discuss data or integration strategies. Once regulatory approval was given, BMO had to act quickly to solve various technological challenges, such as deciding which systems to keep and how to mitigate problems on conversion day.
The integration of the two banks' technologies also allowed BMO to expand its digital banking platform, helping customers across all 50 states. This included continuing to serve customers of Bank of the West, who could continue to enjoy the same level of service through BMO's branches, website, and mobile application.
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BMO's job cuts
Bank of Montreal (BMO) completed the acquisition of Bank of the West in February 2023. The acquisition brought nearly 1.8 million customers to BMO and extended its banking presence through more than 500 additional branches and commercial and wealth offices in key U.S. growth markets. BMO's acquisition of Bank of the West was intended to be absorbed into BMO's U.S. subsidiary BMO Harris Bank, which would at least double BMO's total presence in the United States.
During the transition phase, BMO branding replaced areas where Bank of the West had a presence, including at least 10 ATMs across the UC Berkeley campus, a full-service branch in the ASUC Student Union, and other digital or physical presences within UC Berkeley departments and organizations. Bank of the West branches remained open under BMO after the transition, including the UC Berkeley campus branch located in the MLK Jr. Student Union building. Existing accounts and services were automatically transferred to comparable BMO accounts, and customers could expect the same level of support and experience to support all their personal banking needs.
Until the conversion of the banks' systems, expected in early September 2023, customers continued to be served through their respective BMO and Bank of the West branches, websites, and mobile applications. In the coming months, BMO planned to provide Bank of the West customers with key information about how the combined bank would serve them, including the plan for the conversion of their accounts.
There is no explicit mention of job cuts in the sources provided. However, it is worth noting that BMO's acquisition of Bank of the West may have resulted in some operational changes and integrations that could have impacted employment within the organizations.
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BMO's plans for customers
BMO's acquisition of Bank of the West was finalised in February 2023. The deal, worth $16.3 billion, brought nearly 1.8 million customers to BMO, along with a presence in 32 states and a stronger position in three of the top five US markets.
BMO plans to merge Bank of the West with its existing US subsidiary, BMO Harris Bank, which will double BMO's presence in the US. BMO has stated that it will provide key information to Bank of the West customers about how the combined bank will serve them, including the plan for the conversion of their accounts. Customers will continue to be served through their respective BMO and Bank of the West branches, websites, and mobile applications until the conversion of the banks' systems, which is expected to take place in September 2023.
During the transition phase, BMO branding will replace Bank of the West branding in various locations, including ATMs, branches, and digital or physical presences within UC Berkeley departments and organisations.
To integrate Bank of the West, BMO had to complete more than 25,000 tasks, including technological challenges such as merging data and deciding which systems to keep. BMO doubled its mainframe capacity and prepared a cloud staging platform to ensure a smooth transition.
BMO has also stated that it will continue to support the communities affected by the acquisition, such as through its BMO EMpower 2.0 community benefits plan, with over $16 billion of the planned commitment targeted for California.
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Frequently asked questions
Bank of the West was acquired by the Canadian banking group BMO Financial Group (BMO) in February 2023.
BMO acquired Bank of the West from the French banking group BNP Paribas (BNPP).
Bank of the West was founded in 1874 in San Jose, California, as the Farmers National Gold Bank of San Jose. In 1979, it was acquired by BNP Paribas and renamed Bank of the West. Over the years, the bank expanded through the acquisition of several other banks and branches.
Bank of the West customers were assured that they would continue to receive the same level of service through BMO's branches, website, and mobile application. Their account numbers and login information remained the same, and BMO notified customers about any changes to their accounts.
BMO's acquisition of Bank of the West expanded its banking presence in key U.S. growth markets, adding nearly 1.8 million customers and extending its footprint to 32 states. The deal also doubled BMO's total presence in the United States and brought technological challenges and opportunities for integration.
