01:41 PM EST, 03/07/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Piyush Agrawal (Chief Risk Officer, Bank of Montreal ( NRGD )) joined RBC's Global Financial Institutions Conference.

Key takeaways:

With the acquisition of Bank of the West (BoW) completed, BMO is optimistic that its consumer and commercial footprint in California will be a key driver of growth for the bank, as it believes that growth in the U.S. will be better than Canada.

BMO maintained its impaired provisions for credit losses (PCL) ratio guidance in the low-30 bps range in 2024 and suggested its reserves were higher than pre-pandemic levels. BMO cited the resiliency of the Canadian mortgage consumer (cash in hand, high FICO scores, low LTV, and low unemployment) which has helped it absorb the 20-25% mortgage payment increases seen in the past 4-5 quarters in the higher interest rate environment. The bank feels that is well-reserved on the commercial real estate (CRE) front and also does not expect any surprises.

BMO is rated Outperform, with a $130 target at RBC.

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