Trucking credit metrics at BMO slide as the business gets smaller

2 weeks ago 12

John Kingston

Thu, December 4, 2025 astatine 6:53 AM CST 4 min read

Credit metrics astatine the proscription portion of BMO, the erstwhile Bank of Montreal, were down virtually crossed the committee successful the 4th quarter, and the size of the concern is shrinking arsenic well.

BMO’s (NYSE: BMO) transportation portion is simply a large lender to the North American trucking industry. It has seen a rising tide of writeoffs, allowances and impairments alongside the freight recession.

Given its size and the disclosure of its recognition information successful its quarterly earnings, which were released Thursday, the numbers archer a revealing but not-surprising communicative astir however carriers are faring successful servicing their debts. The proscription assemblage astatine BMO is believed to beryllium astir 90% trucking institution clients.

The size of the concern measured successful gross loans and acceptances had mostly been staying dependable during the slide. But that is intelligibly coming to an end.

Gross loans and acceptances astatine the proscription assemblage successful the 4th fourth ended October 31 were conscionable nether CAD$13 cardinal ($9.31 billion). In the 3rd quarter, that fig was $13.7 cardinal and it was $14 cardinal successful the 2nd quarter.

The precocious h2o people of that publication of concern successful BMO’s proscription assemblage came 2 years agone successful the 4th fourth of 2023, erstwhile it was $15.6 billion.

It’s been 4 years since the publication of concern astatine BMO’s proscription assemblage has been this low. The fig for the 4th fourth of 2023 besides was conscionable nether $13 billion.

The shrinking of the sector’s publication of concern comes aft an August study published by Bloomberg that BMO mightiness beryllium looking to merchantability the unit.

If it does get sold, a purchaser would beryllium picking up a lender that has seen the size of immoderate of its antagonistic recognition metrics implicit the past fewer years detonate by multiples that tin beryllium counted successful the hundreds.

For example, allowances for recognition losses successful the proscription assemblage were $8 cardinal successful the 3rd 4th of 2022, close aft the crest of the post-recession freight boom.