Bank of Montreal is getting the green light for its US$16.3-billion acquisition of Bank of the West, clearing the final regulatory approval for its major U.S. expansion. BMO says it expects the deal – which will create the 15th-largest U.S. lender and expand its footprint into 32 states – will close Feb. 1 after the U.S. Federal Reserve signed off on the transaction. The Bank of the West deal is the largest ever acquisition of a U.S. firm in Canadian banking history, though it – in combination with rising capital requirements back here at home – prompted BMO to head to the market to raise $3.15 billion to shore up its reserves. OIL HITS HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE EARLY DECEMBER Oil prices are extending their gains, with U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate climbing above US$81 per barrel to hit the highest level since early December. Few things at play here, chief among them some optimism over a rebound in Chinese demand once the world’s second-largest economy makes it past the worst of its current COVID crisis, bringing buyers back into the fold. Earlier today, the International Energy Agency said that while oil markets are set to face a bigger surplus […]
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