Bank of the West

Bank of the West

Company type	Subsidiary (until 2023)
Industry	Financial services
Founded	January 1, 1874 (1874-01-01) in San Jose, California, United States
Defunct	September 5, 2023 (2023-09-05)
Fate	Acquired by Bank of Montreal and merged into BMO Bank, N.A.
Headquarters	San Francisco , United States
Area served	Midwest and Western United States
Key people	Nandita Bakshi (CEO as of 2016)
Parent	BNP Paribas (1979–2023), Bank of Montreal (2023)

Bank of the West was a U.S.-based financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, operating more than 600 branches throughout the Midwest and Western United States. Established in 1874 in San Jose, California under the name Farmers National Gold Bank of San Jose, it laid its roots in the late 19th century banking landscape.

Between 1979 and 2023, Bank of the West functioned as a subsidiary of the French banking conglomerate BNP. In February 2023, the Canadian financial powerhouse Bank of Montreal (BMO) completed its acquisition of Bank of the West, merging it into its American division, BMO Harris Bank. The Bank of the West brand was officially retired during Labor Day weekend 2023, with all customer accounts and branch locations consolidated into the newly named BMO Bank, N.A. by September 5.

Origins

The institution originated in 1874 as Farmers National Gold Bank of San Jose. With the transition to convertible bank notes in 1880, it adopted the new title First National Bank of San Jose, California.

BNP Paribas Acquisition

In 1970, Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) launched the French Bank of California. Later in that decade, First National Bank of San Jose was rebranded as Bank of the West. BNP acquired Bank of the West in 1979 and consolidated it with its French Bank of California operations, expanding its footprint to 35 branches and $350 million in assets.

The year 2000 saw BNP merge with Paribas, forming BNP Paribas and reinforcing its international banking presence.

Growth through Mergers and Acquisitions

During the 1980s and 1990s, Bank of the West aggressively expanded by acquiring several institutions: Bank of Los Gatos (1987), Central Banking Systems (1990), Imperial Savings and Loan branches (1991), Atlantic Financial Federal Savings Bank (1992), Citibank branches in northern California for $360 million (1993), NorthBay Savings Bank (1995), along with branches from Bank of America and Coast Federal Bank (1997).

In 1995, First Hawaiian Bank established Pacific One Bank to manage branches acquired from West One Bank. By 1998, BNP and First Hawaiian Inc. created BancWest Bancorp to oversee both Bank of the West and First Hawaiian Bank, with Pacific One being absorbed into Bank of the West. BNP Paribas held a reduced ownership stake of 45% in BancWest Bancorp at that time, subject to restrictions on increasing its share before November 2001.

Bank of the West completed a stock-for-stock acquisition of Sierra West Bancorp in 2001, which temporarily lowered BNP’s ownership percentage to 42%.

That same year, amid regulatory concerns linked to Wells Fargo’s purchase of First Security Corporation, Bank of the West acquired 30 First Security branches located in New Mexico and Nevada. Meanwhile, First Hawaiian broadened its reach by acquiring Union Bank of California’s branches in Guam and Saipan. In addition, BNP Paribas bought out the remaining 55% interest in BancWest Bancorp, making it a fully owned subsidiary. Furthermore, Bank of the West purchased United California Bank from Japan’s UFJ Bank.

In March 2004, an announcement was made regarding Bank of the West’s acquisition of Community First Bankshares, which operated Community First National Bank with a network of 155 offices across twelve states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Shortly after this deal closed, it also purchased USDB Bancorp—the parent company of Union Safe Deposit Bank. In December 2005, Commercial Federal Corporation based in Omaha, Nebraska was acquired; this added locations across Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.

The bank extended its international presence by opening representative offices in Tokyo (2006) and Taipei (2007).

As of June 2016, Nandita Bakshi has been serving as CEO. In 2022, the bank earned recognition as one of the Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion according to the Disability Equality Index (DEI).

Acquisition by BMO

In December 2021, Canadian financial institution BMO Financial Group reached an agreement to purchase Bank of the West from BNP Paribas. BMO intended to integrate Bank of the West with its existing U.S. entity, BMO Harris Bank, thereby doubling its footprint across the United States and increasing its market presence. The transaction, valued near $16 billion, was finalized in February 2023. By early September 2023, all Bank of the West branches and accounts had been transitioned to BMO, streamlining operations and strengthening BMO's competitive position within the American banking sector.

See also

• Lloyds Bank California