TORONTO, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Bank of Montreal ( BERZ ) is

hiring Tony Sciarrino from JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) to lead its

U.S. commercial banking business, replacing Ray Whitacre who

will retire Jan. 1, according to a memo sent internally on

Friday.

Sciarrino will start his role at BMO in late March 2025 and

report to commercial banking group head Nadim Hirji and CEO

Darrel Hackett, the memo seen by Reuters said.

In his most recent role, Sciarrino was managing director and

segment head for commercial banking clients at JPMorgan Chase ( JPM )

overseeing operations in the Western United States, including

California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Alaska, Idaho, Montana

and Wyoming.

He also spent more than 26 years at Bank of America Merrill

Lynch and held several senior roles.

Sciarrino will divide his work between BMO's Chicago and Los

Angeles offices while focusing on the lender's commercial bank

footprint across the country, with an emphasis on the Midwest

markets, the memo, signed by Hirji and Hackett, said.

BMO has rapidly expanded in the U.S. through its $16 billion

acquisition of San Francisco-based Bank of the West in 2023 that

gave it a massive presence on the US west coast to build its

retail and commercial banking footprint.