BMO Financial Group is planning a significant brick-and-mortar push in the U.S. West, with the U.S. arm of Bank of Montreal set to open 145 new branches across California and Arizona over the next five years. The initiative is framed as an expansion of in-person banking in markets the institution identifies as growth areas.
As part of this broader rollout, BMO says it will introduce 15 new financial centers in the Phoenix area and Tucson. These locations are described as community banking hubs, emphasizing local service and physical access for customers rather than purely digital expansion. The planned Arizona branches represent a notable addition to the bank’s existing regional footprint.
BMO’s current position in the Phoenix banking market underscores the scale of the planned growth. According to reporting cited from the Phoenix Business Journal, BMO ranked sixth among the Phoenix area’s largest banks, with $4.3 billion in local deposits as of the second quarter of 2025. The new branches are expected to build on that deposit base, although the bank has not disclosed specific investment amounts or real estate details associated with the expansion.
The Arizona retail banking landscape has been active on the consolidation front as well. In February, Fifth Third Bancorp closed a $10.9 billion acquisition of Comerica Inc., which operates 12 bank branches in the Phoenix metro area. The transaction folded Comerica’s local branch network into Fifth Third’s broader platform, further concentrating regional banking activity among large institutions.
Additional consolidation has reshaped the state’s branch network in recent months. PNC Bank completed its acquisition of Colorado-based First Bank Holding Co. in December, adding 13 FirstBank branches in Arizona to PNC’s system. This deal immediately expanded PNC’s physical presence in the state through an established set of locations.
Other banks have also used acquisitions to scale their Arizona operations. Enterprise Bank & Trust took over 10 First Interstate Bank branch offices in the state, a move that more than doubled its statewide deposits to $1.2 billion. Separately, UMB Financial Corp. acquired Heartland Financial USA Inc., bringing UMB’s Arizona branch count to 14 following the transaction.
Taken together, BMO’s organic branch build-out and a series of recent bank acquisitions illustrate an environment in which large and mid-sized institutions are actively reshaping their physical branch networks in Arizona. The changes point to an ongoing reallocation of market share and customer relationships within the state’s retail banking sector, with implications for retail real estate demand tied to new and existing branch locations.
