Wealth & Tax Planning Consultant

Bank of Montreal has priced a USD 1 billion offering of Additional Tier 1 Limited Recourse Capital Notes, Series 7. The notes will carry a 7.375% annual interest rate, paid quarterly, until November 2036, after which the rate will reset every five years based on the 5-year US Treasury Rate plus 2.579%. The LRCNs will mature on 26 November 2086, with an expected closing date of 16 September 2026. BMO may redeem the notes, subject to regulatory approval, starting from November 2036 on any quarterly interest payment date with 10 to 60 days' notice. The proceeds will support general banking purposes and are expected to qualify as Additional Tier 1 capital for regulatory purposes. BMO Capital Markets, Barclays, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and UBS are joint book-running managers for the offering.

BMO U.S. Bringing San Diego expansion. FINANCE: Bank Opening New Locations, Building Local Teams Daniel Pearson September 8, 2026 SAN DIEGO - BMO U.S. is undertaking quite the West Coast expansion. In the next five years, the Chicago-based bank plans to open 135 financial centers in California. As part of the expansion plan, BMO's San Diego financial center locations will triple from five to 15. "San Diego is a critical component of this broader California strategy," said Aron Levine, BMO's President of U.S. Banking. BMO also became the official bank of the Los Angeles Lakers on Aug. 31. The bank will partner with the Lakers for all programs and team experiences for the 2026-2027 NBA season. From Canada to San Diego. BMO U.S. is part of the 209-year-old Canadian Bank of Montreal. The Bank of Montreal has a current market cap of $123 billion and is the third largest bank in Canada by total assets. "We have a tremendous capital base and incredible history of success being part of BMO," Levine said. "So that certainly provides us with the capital and the funding and everything we need to grow in the U.S." Nationwide, BMO U.S.'s year to date revenue is $29 billion, growing 8% year over year. The bank has accumulated $500 billion in total assets. BMO U.S. had previously been run as three separate businesses: wealth, commercial, and consumer, all reporting to leaders in Canada. When Levine was hired to be president of BMO U.S. he ushered in a new era for the U.S. side of things, where all three businesses reported into one U.S.-based leader. This change in model has reaped financial rewards for the company. "We have improved our return on equity by almost 300 basis points in the last year and a half. We just set a new high for net income, which grew 9% year over year," Levine said. "We're seeing the progress of our U.S. strategy, and that allows us to continue to invest." BMO began its growth journey in the California market when it acquired Bank of the West in 2023. BMO acquired 223 financial centers across the state as part of the transaction. Growing the San Diego team. In San Diego, BMO recently brought on new leadership to build local teams from the ground up in their commercial banking and wealth management divisions. Regional growth began with the hiring of Danielle Schwimer as the commercial banking managing director and Ali Nafii as the wealth management market leader. Schwimer's current team consists of just six employees, but she is growing her office with a mix of external and local talent. "People in San Diego genuinely want long-term partners," Schwimer said. "And that's really what we're building here. Myself and the team that I've hired within the commercial bank, we've got deep roots in the market." Prior to joining BMO, Schwimer was at J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. in San Diego for six years. In tandem with commercial banking expansion, Nafii has spearheaded BMO Wealth Management's entrance into the San Diego market. Before being brought on with BMO, Nafii was the senior managing director at Northern Trust Wealth Management in San Diego for 11 years. Nafii also currently has six team members within the San Diego office, with plans to bring aboard 12 to 15 new wealth management professionals soon. "The ability to have the commercial banking aspect and the wealth management aspect under one umbrella is a unique value proposition and differentiator," Nafii said. "Dani and I are basically tied at the hip to deliver value to the community." Growing San Diego industries. BMO Commercial Banking is looking at a diverse array of clients that they can reach in the San Diego market. Their current local client base includes mostly defense, life sciences, and healthcare companies. "There's other industries like advanced manufacturing and consumer technology, we've been around the industries, but we haven't really had the resources or the talent pool, or frankly the bodies, to be able to serve that industry like we'd want to," Schwimer said. "So, we're really focusing there." In reaching new clients, the San Diego teams are utilizing new capabilities and technology of AI in balance sheets, lending, and treasury. For example, Schwimer has been utilizing a new treasury management system that streamlines data for customers, automating old processes for treasury planning which allows her team to plan with their customers more intimately to access capital and acquisitions. "What we're doing right now is just being extremely strategic and intentional, and making sure that we are aligned with the key industries that make the San Diego economy grow," Schwimer said. BMO Bank FOUNDED: 1817 CEO: Darryl White HEADQUARTERS: Toronto, ON BUSINESS: Finance EMPLOYEES: 55,000+ REVENUE: $1.5T in assets as of 7/31/26 WEBSITE: bmo.com CONTACT: Tony Sciarrino | [email protected] SOCIAL IMPACT: In 2025, BMO directed more than $88.5 million to drive progress for communities, which included $82.5 million in philanthropic contributions to hundreds of charities and nonprofit organizations across North America. NOTABLE: BMO has served Californians for more than 160 years, beginning in San Francisco in 1864 and expanding to Los Angeles in 1963.

BMO Financial Group has completed the sale of 138 branch locations to First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company. The branches are located across North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Idaho, and selected locations in Minnesota, Oregon and Illinois. Under the agreement, First-Citizens Bank acquired approximately $5.7bn in deposit liabilities and $1.1bn in loans. The deal, first announced in October last year, forms part of BMO's strategy to reallocate capital towards markets with stronger client engagement and growth prospects. BMO plans to expand its presence in Western US markets, adding over 130 new sites in California and about 15 in Arizona. This would increase its California footprint by more than 50%.