Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Tayfun Tuzun: Yes, let me take the synthetic and then I’ll turn it over to Dave for comments on the U.S. Yes. So, this quarter on a quarter-over-quarter basis, our NIM was negatively impacted by 1 basis points due to the increased level of risk transfer transactions. As we look forward, we don’t anticipate the activity levels to be high enough to impact future quarterly NIM progress. I mean, I think we will always continue to manage our capital efficiently. But sitting here today, I suspect that the incremental impact this year will be less. And then to Dave for comments.

Dave Casper: So, the NIM for the year in P&C U.S. was up 43 basis points. So, we were really happy with that. And that sticks. And that’s really a result of a very solid diversified deposit base across both earnings business and the commercial business. The decrease in the loan spread is more than offset by the deposit side that’s pretty expected in the times like this with interest rates going up. So, nothing significant there, probably a little bit of just a mix in terms of the higher rate loans, probably we haven’t grown as much. Those would be the riskier, nothing significant. And I expect the NIM to continue to be pretty strong given the deposit base. We haven’t just I’ll throw in, it’s going to only get better in terms of overall NIM for the bank when we add the very solid and consistent type of deposit business we’ll get with Bank of the West.

Doug Young: Appreciate, thank you.

Operator: The next question is from Paul Holden from CIBC. Please go ahead. Your line is now open.

Paul Holden: Thank you. Good morning. First question is related to the loan growth guidance of mid-to high single digits. I believe the guidance last year was — or last year — as of last quarter was for high single digits. So, I think just a little bit of a downshift and maybe you can clarify if I’m correct on that one. And then if there is a change, what’s driving the change in outlook?

Tayfun Tuzun: Yes, in general, I’ll make a comment about the broader loan trends. I think we obviously have seen very strong growth last year and year-over-year numbers are very strong, and we continue — we have the capacity to continue and these numbers are all obviously stand-alone BMO numbers, not including the impact of Bank of the West. And I think in general, and Dave can comment on some of the commercial aspects and Ernie can comment on the consumer side. we’re mindful of the environment and providing you a reasonable update for what we see today. So, Dave, any comments?

Dave Casper: Yes. I think the guidance we gave you is the same. Obviously, the economy is slowing a little bit. we’re not slowing, but the economy is. And to that extent, it depends on where we go. But so far, we’ve seen a modest moderation just given the economy. Some of our businesses are doing even better. Our businesses that are tied to inventory build like our auto floor plan business is up. Our asset-based lending business is up, where we’d see some modest decline more in the U.S. probably than Canada would be in real estate where the pipelines just aren’t as strong. But we continue to be pretty bullish, very bullish long term in terms of where our loan growth has been. It’s consistently outpaced the peers as we’ve added new clients. I expect that to continue.

Paul Holden: And then the second one is just looking at the Bank of the West slide. You show the deposit expectation today versus prior, so $72 billion versus prior, so 6.5% decline. And I get there is a runoff in deposits in U.S. banking, but probably outpaced the broader industry. So, wondering if there is an explanation there on the materiality of the decline?