TORONTO, Jan. 17,
2025 /PRNewswire/ - Bank of Montreal (TSX: BMO) (NYSE: BMO) today
announced that it has received approvals from the Toronto Stock
Exchange (TSX) and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial
Institutions Canada (OSFI) to proceed with its previously-announced
normal course issuer bid to purchase, for cancellation, up to 20
million of its common shares, commencing January 22, 2025, and ending no later than
January 21, 2026. Purchases under the
bid may be made through the facilities of the TSX and may also be
made through other designated exchanges and alternative Canadian
trading systems or by such other means as may be permitted by a
securities regulatory authority, including under automatic purchase
plans, block purchases, private agreements or share repurchase
programs under exemption orders issued by securities regulatory
authorities.
The maximum number of common shares that may be repurchased
under the normal course issuer bid represents approximately 2.7 per
cent of the Bank's "public float" (as such term is defined in the
TSX Company Manual) of common shares.
The Bank established an automatic securities purchase plan on
January 9, 2025 under which its
broker, BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., may at certain points in time
purchase its common shares pursuant to the bid within a defined set
of criteria. The actual number of common shares purchased under the
bid, the timing of purchases and the price at which the common
shares are bought will depend upon management discretion based on
factors such as market conditions and capital adequacy. The
purchase price for any common shares repurchased by the Bank under
the bid will be market price at the time of acquisition.
There were 729,953,297 Bank of Montreal common shares issued and outstanding
as at January 6, 2025, and the public
float was 729,689,561 common shares. The average daily trading
volume for the six months ended December 31,
2024, and the daily maximum number of common shares
available for purchase, calculated pursuant to the rules of the TSX
for the purposes of the bid, were 3,072,276 and 768,069 common
shares, respectively.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Bank of Montreal's public
communications often include written or oral forward-looking
statements. Statements of this type are included in this press
release and may be included in other filings with Canadian
securities regulators or the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, or in other communications. 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 BMO's normal course issuer bid. Forward-looking statements are
typically identified by words such as "will", "would", "should",
"believe", "expect", "anticipate", "project", "intend", "estimate",
"plan", "commit", "target", "may", "schedule", "forecast",
"outlook", "seek" 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, 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:
general economic and market conditions in the countries in which we
operate, including labour challenges and changes in foreign
exchange and interest rates; changes to our credit ratings; cyber
and information security, including the threat of data breaches,
hacking, identity theft and corporate espionage, as well as the
possibility of denial of service resulting from efforts targeted at
causing system failure and service disruption; technology
resilience, innovation and competition; failure of third parties to
comply with their obligations to us; political conditions,
including changes relating to, or affecting, economic or trade
matters; disruptions of global supply chains; environmental and
social risk, including climate change; the Canadian housing market
and consumer leverage; inflationary pressures; changes in laws,
including tax legislation and interpretation, or in supervisory
expectations or requirements, including capital, interest rate and
liquidity requirements and guidance, and the effect of such changes
on funding costs and capital requirements; changes in monetary,
fiscal or economic policy; weak, volatile or illiquid capital or
credit markets; the level of competition in the geographic and
business areas in which we operate; exposure to, and the resolution
of, significant litigation or regulatory matters, the appeal of
favourable outcomes and our ability to successfully appeal adverse
outcomes of such matters and the timing, determination and recovery
of amounts related to such matters; the accuracy and completeness
of the information we obtain with respect to our customers and
counterparties; our ability to execute our strategic plans,
complete proposed acquisitions or dispositions and integrate
acquisitions, including obtaining regulatory approvals, and realize
any anticipated benefits from such plans and transactions; critical
accounting estimates and judgments, and the effects of changes in
accounting standards, rules and interpretations on these estimates;
operational and infrastructure risks, including with respect to
reliance on third parties; global capital markets activities; the
emergence or continuation of widespread health emergencies or
pandemics, and their impact on local, national or international
economies, as well as their heightening of certain risks that may
affect our future results; the possible effects on our business of
war or terrorist activities; natural disasters, such as earthquakes
or flooding, and disruptions to public infrastructure, such as
transportation, communications, power or water supply; 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. For more information, please refer to the discussion
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 BMO's 2024
Annual MD&A, as updated by quarterly reports, all of which
outline certain key factors and risks that may affect our future
results. Investors 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 shareholders and analysts in
understanding our financial position as at and for the periods
ended on the dates presented, as well as our strategic priorities
and objectives, and may not be appropriate for other purposes.
Material economic assumptions underlying the forward-looking
statements contained in this press release include those set out in
the Economic Developments and Outlook and Allowance for Credit
Losses sections of BMO's 2024 Annual MD&A, as updated by
quarterly reports. Assumptions about the performance of the
Canadian and U.S. economies, as well as overall market conditions
and their combined effect on our business, are material factors we
consider when determining our strategic priorities, objectives and
expectations for our business. In determining our expectations for
economic growth, we primarily consider historical economic data,
past relationships between economic and financial variables,
changes in government policies, and the risks to the domestic and
global economy.
Internet: www.bmo.com X:
@BMOmedia
About BMO Financial Group
BMO Financial Group is the
eighth largest bank in North America by assets, with
total assets of $1.41 trillion as of October 31, 2024.
Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a diverse team
of highly engaged employees providing a broad range of personal and
commercial banking, wealth management, global markets and
investment banking products and services to 13 million customers
across Canada, the United States, and in select
markets globally. Driven by a single purpose, to Boldly Grow the
Good in business and life, BMO is committed to driving
positive change in the world, and making progress for a thriving
economy, sustainable future, and inclusive society.
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SOURCE BMO Financial Group