Move comes amid wider shake-up in BMO's capital markets arm
Steve Thom, one of Bank of Montreal’s most senior markets executives, is set to retire as head of global credit trading, according to people familiar with the matter first cited by Bloomberg.
Thom joined BMO as a managing director about five years ago, after a 27-year career at Royal Bank of Canada, where he held a series of senior capital markets roles, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He also spent a brief period at fixed income manager RP Investment Advisors in 2019 before taking on increasingly senior posts at BMO and being promoted to head of global credit.
Thom’s impending retirement came as Bank of Montreal continued to reorganize its capital markets franchise with a mix of senior appointments and staff reductions.
The bank recently let go of two longtime managing directors in the capital markets unit, Alena Vinogradova and Nancy Branch, as part of an “ongoing reorganization,” according to an Investing.com summary of Bloomberg reporting.
At the same time, BMO elevated other executives, naming John Mitrano as sole head of global equities and Darren Campbell as head of global markets Canada.
The bank has also been realigning its wider executive team across personal, business and commercial banking in Canada and the United States, aimed at improving operational efficiency and sharpening its North American footprint.
BMO Financial Group has agreed to sell 138 of its US branches to First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co. The deal, which is expected to close by mid-2026 pending regulatory approvals, will see First Citizens assume approximately $5.7 billion USD in deposits and $1.1 billion USD in loans.
BMO reported full‑year net income of $8.73 billion, up 19% from $7.33 billion a year earlier, with earnings per share rising to $11.44 from $9.51. Its capital markets division earned around $1.45 billion on revenue of $7.5 billion in fiscal 2025.
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