BMO Financial Group is poised for a dramatic expansion of its U.S. banking business later this year when it closes on its $16.3 billion acquisition of Bank of the West, the U.S. operations of BNP Paribas. Laying the groundwork for the merger is Erminia "Ernie" Johannson, BMO's group head for North American personal and business banking.
"The expression I like to use is, we corrected the chassis of the car. We got it all ready to roll and now we can add more weight, add more heft onto it, and power through," said Johannson, whose business units contribute 30% of BMO's revenue.
After the deal closes, BMO will expand into several new states, including California, making it one of the 15 largest banks in the U.S. Johannson led efforts to strengthen BMO's digital capabilities, enhance its marketing efforts and prove it could gather deposits with a smaller branch network in states like Arizona and Florida, Johannson said. In fact, the bank has attracted deposits from all 50 states despite having branches in only 32.
"This notion of the digital capability we've built with a light branch footprint is really the way we're going to win," Johannson said.
Bank of the West has a similar model and a compatible culture, Johannson said. She also has been happy to sit across the table from Bank of the West CEO Nandita Bakshi, another woman on American Banker's list of the Most Powerful Women in Banking.
"They're very focused on their customers, very focused on their community," Johannson said.
In addition to ensuring BMO pulls off the merger effectively, Johannson has been overseeing an expansion of the bank's BMORE program, an effort launched a few years ago to train people in lower-income, minority communities for jobs in banking. The program started in Chicago but has since expanded to Madison and Milwaukee.
For Johannson, the program's impact can be measured in hearing from participants who tell her they had been unbanked but are now bankers.
"That gives us a lot of joy," she said.
