Find out how the banking giant fared in the third quarter against a volatile economic backdrop
Bank of Montreal (BMO) set aside less money for potentially souring loans in 2025’s third quarter, helping boost solid financial results and possibly signalling the banking giant’s improving expectations of the economic outlook amid a trade war.
The bank said on Tuesday morning that it had put aside $797 million for loan loss provisions in Q3, compared with $906 million the same time last year, with net income on the up – rosing from $1.87 billion in the third quarter of 2024 ($2.48 per share) to $2.33 billion this time around ($3.14 per share).
Year-to-date, the bank’s adjusted net income has jumped by 14%, rising from just over $5.9 billion to more than $6.73 billion in 2024.
BMO said its Q4 dividend for this year would be $1.63 per common share, up 5% over the same time last year and unchanged from the previous quarter.
On the wealth management side, the bank’s adjusted net income soared by $77 million (21%) compared with the same time last year, hitting $441 million, while its capital markets division eked out growth of 12% by rising to $442 million year over year.
BMO’s chief executive officer Darryl White highlighted its “disciplined” performance in Q3, underlining its revenue performance and expense management, and said the bank’s June acquisition of Burgundy Asset Management was aimed at “adding talent and advancing digital and AI capabilities to deliver a differentiated client experience.”
That move, which is expected to close by the end of 2025, saw BMO ink a deal to purchase the wealth manager – whose assets under management total about $27 billion – for a price of around $625 million in common shares including a $125 million holdback to be paid if certain conditions are fulfilled.
BMO and Scotiabank kicked off earnings season for the third quarter among Canada’s banking giants with Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD), and National Bank all scheduled to release their Q3 results later this week.
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