BMO Financial Group's U.S. subsidiary, BMO Bank N.A., completed the sale of 138 branches across eight primary states (North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Idaho) plus select branches in Minnesota, Oregon, and Illinois to First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company, the banking subsidiary of First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (Nasdaq: FCNCA). The transaction was announced October 16, 2025, and completion was announced September 4, 2026. Under the deal terms, First Citizens Bank assumed approximately US$5.7 billion in deposit liabilities and purchased approximately US$1.1 billion in loans, for a net deposit premium of approximately 5 percent paid on closing, as reported by Connect CRE. BMO stated the sale supports its strategy to optimize its U.S. financial center network and redeploy capital to higher-growth markets; BMO separately disclosed plans to open 150 new branches over five years, with a California growth focus. BMO Capital Markets and Piper Sandler & Co. served as financial advisors to BMO Bank, and Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. served as legal advisor to BMO Bank. Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP and Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell & Jernigan, L.L.P. served as legal advisors to First Citizens Bank. BMO disclosed it expects a goodwill-related charge of approximately $104 million and a closing-related tax charge of approximately $117 million in connection with the transaction, as reported by Barchart. No consideration paid for the branch network itself (as opposed to assumed deposits/loans) was disclosed in reviewed sources.