- Underscores BMO's commitment to helping communities
create sustainable change
- Addresses key barriers faced by minority businesses,
communities, and families
- Builds on the progress of BMO EMpower, a $5 billion commitment to an inclusive economic
recovery launched in 2020
CHICAGO, Nov. 28,
2022 /PRNewswire/ - BMO today announced a Community
Benefits Plan (CBP) that outlines a more than $40 billion commitment to local communities in
the United States, with over
$16 billion of the plan commitment
targeted for the State of
California. This plan outlines commitments to local
communities across BMO's expanded footprint in the United States after the approval and
closing of its proposed acquisition of Bank of the West, announced
on December 20, 2021. The acquisition
remains subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing
conditions.
The five-year plan was developed with input from over 85
community groups from across the country through listening sessions
facilitated by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and
the California Reinvestment Coalition, the Alliance to Close the
Racial Wealth Gap, a public meeting and written comments submitted
to regulators. The plan reinforces BMO's focus on increasing home
ownership and supporting the growth of small businesses in low- to
moderate-income (LMI) neighborhoods and communities of color. It
also strengthens these communities through investments and lending
to support affordable housing and economic development as well as
philanthropic giving.
"We want to thank all of the community groups that invested
their time to meet with us and provide feedback that has helped
shape this plan," said David Casper,
U.S. CEO, BMO Financial Group. "We are committed to ongoing
community engagement to realize the full potential of this
plan."
The CBP continues and expands on the progress by both BMO and
Bank of the West to promote economic growth and provide greater
access to capital for all. The result is a bold plan that will
increase investment and expand BMO's strategic partnerships in
underserved communities. It's also an expansion of, and is
incremental to, the BMO EMpower initiative, a $5 billion commitment which was launched by BMO
Financial Group in 2020 to advance an inclusive economic recovery
in the United States through a
series of long-term initiatives designed to drive meaningful change
and champion racial equity.
The more than $40 billion
commitment includes:
- Advancing Home Ownership: $7.5
billion in home mortgage lending, including $5.1 billion for the State of California, to support LMI and
minority homeowners. Key commitments and programs include:
-
- More than 75 percent of home mortgage lending under the plan to
people and communities of color
- The launch of a new Welcome Home Grant program in San Francisco and San Jose with over $125
million in home mortgage lending
- The creation of a $3 million
Native Community Housing Fund to support affordable housing on
tribal trust lands
- Growing Small Businesses: $16.5
billion in small business lending, including $5.3 billion for the State of California, that will help jumpstart
the growth of small businesses in underserved communities across
BMO's footprint. Key commitments include:
-
- Close to 60 percent of small business lending targeted to
minority communities
- A $200 million commitment to
expand BMO's small business programs that support women, Black and
Latinx-owned businesses, and a new program for Native
American-owned businesses
- Strengthening Communities: $17.5
billion, including $6.1
billion for the State of
California, in community development loans, investments, and
other support for underserved communities to create greater
opportunity for success. This commitment:
-
- Includes $12 billion in lending
for affordable housing and economic development and $3 billion in investments in low-income housing
and new market tax credits, CDFIs, CRA-qualified private equity and
other loan funds
- Creating a More Equitable Society: Over 50 percent of
the plan is expected to benefit communities and borrowers of color
to help close the racial wealth gap and advance a more inclusive
society. Key commitments include:
-
- More than $15 billion in small
business and home mortgage lending to minority borrowers or in
minority communities
- $325 million in special purpose
credit programs for mortgage and small business lending designed
for women and borrowers of color, including BMO's newly launched
small business program for Native Americans
"We have a duty to continue addressing the barriers that
disproportionately affect people of color and remain committed to
creating more opportunities that achieve progress for all," Casper
added. "Our Community Benefits Plan reflects our promise to ensure
we have a strong combination of financial and community-driven
investments that will create a more equitable society anywhere we
do business. Eliminating barriers to inclusion while building a
thriving economy and sustainable future is at the core of our
Purpose to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life."
"BMO's commitment to work together with us and leading community
groups was vital to creating a plan that drives significant impact
to the communities served," said Jesse Van Tol, President and CEO,
NCRC. "This community benefits plan is a substantial move in the
right direction by addressing racial equity and access to capital
in specific and tangible ways that will create more economic
inclusion in the markets where BMO operates."
"We commend BMO leadership for its collaboration with the
California Reinvestment Coalition (CRC) and our members over the
last several months to put together an agreement that reflects the
needs of California communities,"
said Paulina Gonzalez-Brito, CRC
CEO. "Mergers must provide a clear public benefit. This agreement
accomplishes this through increased investment and services in LMI
communities and communities of color and increased lending to
BIPOC-owned small businesses. We look forward to working with BMO
as it implements this agreement over the next five years."
After closing, the combined organization will provide greater
convenience, more product choice and increased community engagement
through the following:
- Increased Convenience
-
- Over 1,000 branches and fee-free access to over 42,000
ATMs
- Five new financial services (FS) offices in underserved
areas
- Maintaining Bank of the West branches, with no planned closures
related to the transaction
- A strong, user-friendly digital platform
- Broader Array of Goods and Services for New Customers –
enabling increased access to banking and real financial
progress
-
- Retail products specifically designed to address the needs of
LMI customers
- Reduced fees on many accounts
- Robust financial education resources
- Bank-funded down payment mortgage assistance programs
- Enhanced Community Engagement
-
- Community Advisory Council
- Annual meetings with key partners in new markets and
neighborhoods
- Committed philanthropic funds for local organizations
supporting affordable homeownership and small businesses
- Committed to new partnerships in our expanded footprint
With a focus on collaboration, learning, and innovation, BMO
will continue to work with community partners to achieve
sustainable solutions and shape the future together.
About BMO Financial
Group
Serving customers for 200 years and counting, Bank of
Montreal is a highly diversified
financial services provider - the 8th largest bank, by assets,
in North America. With total assets of $833.8
billion as of July 31, 2022, and a team of diverse and
highly engaged employees, Bank of Montreal provides a broad
range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and
investment banking products and services to more than 12 million
customers and conducts business through three operating groups:
Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management and BMO
Capital Markets.
Cautionary statement regarding
forward-looking information
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking
statements. All such statements are made pursuant to the "safe
harbor" provisions of, and are intended to be forward-looking
statements under, the United States Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 and any applicable Canadian securities
legislation. Forward-looking statements in this press release may
include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the
expected closing of the Bank of the West acquisition, plans for the
combined operations of BMO and Bank of the West, our strategies or
future actions, our targets, commitments, plans, initiatives,
activities and anticipated benefits with respect to the Community
Benefits Plan, the results of, or outlook for, our operations, and
include statements made by our management. Forward-looking
statements are typically identified by words such as "will",
"expect", "anticipate", "project", "plan", "commit", "target",
"may", "forecast" and "could" or negative or grammatical variations
thereof.
By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make
assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties,
both general and specific in nature. There is significant risk that
predictions, forecasts, conclusions or projections will not prove
to be accurate, that our assumptions may not be correct, and that
actual results may differ materially from such predictions,
forecasts, conclusions or projections. We caution readers of this
press release not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking
statements, as a number of factors – many of which are beyond our
control and the effects of which can be difficult to predict –
could cause actual future results, benefits, conditions, actions or
events to differ materially from the targets, expectations,
estimates or intentions expressed in the forward-looking
statements.
The future outcomes that relate to forward-looking statements
may be influenced by many factors, including, but not limited to:
the possibility that the Bank of the West acquisition does not
close when expected or at all because required regulatory approvals
and other conditions to closing are not received or satisfied on a
timely basis or at all or are received subject to adverse
conditions or requirements; the level of activity and expected or
anticipated benefits under the Community Benefits Plan are not
realized in the time frame anticipated or at all as a result of
changes in general economic and market conditions, interest and
exchange rates, monetary policy, laws and regulations (including
changes to capital requirements) and their enforcement, and the
degree of competition in the geographic and business areas in which
BMO and Bank of the West currently operate; the ability to promptly
and effectively integrate Bank of the West; and those other factors
discussed in the Risks That May Affect Future Results section, and
the sections related to credit and counterparty, market, insurance,
liquidity and funding, operational non-financial, legal and
regulatory, strategic, environmental and social, and reputation
risk, in the Enterprise-Wide Risk Management section of the BMO
2021 Annual Report, as updated by the BMO Third Quarter 2022 Report
to Shareholders, all of which outline certain key factors and risks
that may affect our future results and our ability to anticipate
and effectively manage risks arising from all of the foregoing
factors.
We caution that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all
possible factors. Other factors and risks could adversely affect
our results. Readers and others should carefully consider these
factors and risks, as well as other uncertainties and potential
events, and the inherent uncertainty of forward-looking statements.
We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements,
whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by the
organization or on its behalf, except as required by law. The
forward-looking information contained in this press release is
presented for the purpose of assisting readers in understanding the
anticipated benefits of the Community Benefits Plan and may not be
appropriate for other purposes.
Media Contacts:
Scott
Doll, Chicago –
scott.doll@bmo.com
Lucas Seiler, Chicago – lucas.seiler@bmo.com
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SOURCE BMO Financial Group