Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO) lines up new 2026–27 share buyback
Rhea-AI Filing Summary
BANK OF MONTREAL (BMO) announced an intention to launch a new normal course issuer bid to repurchase for cancellation up to 25 million common shares, subject to approval by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada and the Toronto Stock Exchange. The issuer intends to file a notice with the TSX, and, if approved, the bid would run from on or around September 8, 2026 to September 7, 2027, unless ended earlier. The 25 million shares represent about 3.6% of the public float as of July 31, 2026. Purchases may occur through the TSX and other Canadian trading systems or permitted alternative methods, generally at market price, with certain exempt purchases at a discount. As of July 31, 2026, BMO had 697,146,398 common shares outstanding and a public float of 696,863,163 shares. The bank states that the proposed bid would provide additional flexibility to manage its capital position; its current normal course issuer bid remains in effect until September 4, 2026.
Positive
- Up to 25 million-share repurchase (3.6% of public float) provides capital management flexibility and potential earnings-per-share support if executed.
Negative
- None.
Key Figures
Key Terms
normal course issuer bid financial
public float financial
Exemption Orders regulatory
forward-looking statements regulatory
safe harbor provisions regulatory
FAQ
What did BMO (BMO) announce in this Form 6-K?
When will BMO’s new normal course issuer bid run, if approved?
What is BMO’s current scale in terms of total assets?
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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 6-K
Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
| For the month of: August, 2026 | Commission File Number: 001-13354 |
BANK OF MONTREAL
(Name of Registrant)
| 100 King Street West | ||
| 1 First Canadian Place | 129 rue Saint-Jacques | |
| Toronto, Ontario | Montreal, Quebec | |
| Canada, M5X 1A1 | Canada, H2Y 1L6 | |
| (Executive Offices) | (Head Office) | |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F:
Form 20-F ☐ Form 40-F ☒
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
The information contained in this Form 6-K and any exhibits hereto shall be deemed filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) solely for purposes of incorporation by reference into and as part of the following registration statements of the registrant on file with and declared effective by the SEC:
| 1. | Registration Statement – Form F-3 – File No. 333-214934 |
| 2. | Registration Statement – Form F-3 – File No. 333-285508 |
| 3. | Registration Statement – Form S-8 – File No. 333-191591 |
| 4. | Registration Statement – Form S-8 – File No. 333-180968 |
| 5. | Registration Statement – Form S-8 – File No. 333-177579 |
| 6. | Registration Statement – Form S-8 – File No. 333-177568 |
| 7. | Registration Statement – Form S-8 – File No. 333-176479 |
| 8. | Registration Statement – Form S-8 – File No. 333-175413 |
| 9. | Registration Statement – Form S-8 – File No. 333-175412 |
| 10. | Registration Statement – Form S-8 – File No. 333-113096 |
| 11. | Registration Statement – Form S-8 – File No. 333-14260 |
| 12. | Registration Statement – Form S-8 – File No. 33-92112 |
| 13. | Registration Statement – Form S-8 – File No. 333-207739 |
| 14. | Registration Statement – Form S-8 – File No. 333-237522 |
| 15. | Registration Statement – Form S-8 – File No. 333-276007 |
EXHIBIT INDEX
| Exhibit | Description of Exhibit | |
| 99.1 | Press Release – BMO Financial Group Announces Intention to Repurchase Up to 25 Million of its Common Shares | |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| BANK OF MONTREAL | ||||||
| By: | /s/ Rahul Nalgirkar | |||||
| Name: | Rahul Nalgirkar | |||||
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer | |||||
| Date: August 25, 2026 | By: | /s/ Pascale Elharrar | ||||
| Name: | Pascale Elharrar | |||||
| Title: | Corporate Secretary | |||||
Exhibit 99.1
News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BMO Financial Group Announces Intention to Repurchase Up to 25 Million of its Common Shares
TORONTO, August 25, 2026 – Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO)(NYSE:BMO) today announced its intention to purchase for cancellation up to 25 million of its common shares under a normal course issuer bid, subject to the approval of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada (OSFI) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Purchases will be made through the facilities of the TSX and may also be made through other designated exchanges and alternative Canadian trading systems or by such other means as may be permitted by a securities regulatory authority, including under automatic purchase plans, block purchases, private agreements or share repurchase programs under exemption orders issued by securities regulatory authorities (Exemption Orders).
Bank of Montreal (the Bank) intends to file a notice of intention with the TSX in this regard and, subject to regulatory approvals, the bid would commence on or around September 8, 2026, and will end September 7, 2027, unless terminated earlier in accordance with its terms. The common shares that may be repurchased represent approximately 3.6% per cent of the ‘public float’ (as such term is defined in the TSX Company Manual) of common shares as of July 31, 2026. The timing and amount of any purchases under the program are subject to regulatory approvals and to management discretion based on factors such as market conditions. Except for any purchases made under an Exemption Order, which will generally be at a discount to the prevailing market price, the Bank will pay the market price for the shares at the time of acquisition.
There were 697,146,398 Bank of Montreal common shares issued and outstanding as of July 31, 2026, and the public float was 696,863,163 common shares.
The proposed normal course issuer bid will provide the Bank with additional flexibility to manage its capital position.
Bank of Montreal’s common shares are listed on both the Toronto and New York stock exchanges.
The Bank’s current normal course issuer bid commenced on September 5, 2025 and continues until September 4, 2026.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Bank of Montreal’s public communications often include written or oral forward-looking statements. Statements of this type are included in this press release and may be included in other filings with Canadian securities regulators or the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or in other communications. All such statements are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of, and are intended to be forward-looking statements under, the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and any applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements in this press release may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to BMO’s intention to repurchase common shares under a normal course issuer bid. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as “will”, “would”, “should”, “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “project”, “intend”, “estimate”, “plan”, “goal”, “commit”, “target”, “may”, “might”, “schedule”, “forecast”, “outlook”, “timeline”, “suggest”, “seek” and “could” or negative or grammatical variations thereof.
By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific in nature. There is significant risk that predictions, forecasts, conclusions or projections will not prove to be accurate, that our assumptions may not be correct, and that actual results may differ materially from such predictions, forecasts, conclusions or projections. We caution readers of this press release not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, as a number of factors – many of which are beyond our control and the effects of which can be difficult to predict – could cause actual future results, conditions, actions or events to differ materially from the targets, expectations, estimates or intentions expressed in the forward-looking statements. The future outcomes that relate to forward-looking statements may be influenced by many factors, including, but not limited to: general economic and market conditions in the countries in which we operate, including labour challenges and changes in foreign exchange and interest rates; political conditions, including changes relating to, or affecting, economic or trade matters, including tariffs, countermeasures and tariff mitigation policies; changes to our credit ratings; cyber and information security, including the threat of data breaches, hacking, identity theft and corporate espionage, as well as the possibility of denial of service resulting from efforts targeted at causing system failure and service disruption; technology resilience, innovation and competition; technological change, including the use of data and artificial intelligence (AI) in our business, including generative AI; failure of third parties to comply with their obligations to us; disruptions of global supply chains; environmental and social risk, including climate change; the Canadian housing market and consumer leverage; inflationary pressures; changes in laws, including tax legislation and interpretation, or in supervisory expectations or requirements, including capital, interest rate and liquidity requirements and guidance, including if the bank were designated a global systemically important bank, and the effect of such changes on funding costs, liquidity and capital requirements; changes in monetary, fiscal or economic policy; weak, volatile or illiquid capital or credit markets; the level of competition in the geographic and business areas in which we operate; exposure to, and the resolution of, significant litigation or regulatory matters, our ability to successfully appeal adverse outcomes of such matters and the timing, determination and recovery of amounts related to such matters; the accuracy and completeness of the information we obtain with respect to our customers and counterparties; our ability to successfully execute our strategic plans, complete acquisitions or dispositions and integrate acquisitions, including obtaining regulatory approvals, and realize any anticipated benefits from such plans and transactions; critical accounting estimates and judgments, and the effects of changes in accounting standards, rules and interpretations on these estimates; operational and infrastructure risks, including with respect to reliance on third parties; global capital markets activities; the emergence or continuation of widespread health emergencies or pandemics, and their impact on local, national or international economies, as well as their heightening of certain risks that may affect our future results; the possible effects on our business of war or terrorist activities; natural disasters, such as earthquakes or flooding, and disruptions to public infrastructure, such as transportation, communications, power or water supply; and our ability to anticipate and effectively manage risks arising from all of the foregoing factors.
We caution that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all possible factors. Other factors and risks could adversely affect our results. For further information, please refer to the discussion in the Risks That May Affect Future Results section, and the sections related to credit and counterparty, market, liquidity and funding, operational non-financial, legal and regulatory compliance, strategic, environmental and social, and reputation risk in the Enterprise-Wide Risk Management section of BMO’s 2025 Annual Report, and the Risk Management section in our Third Quarter 2026 Report to Shareholders, all of which outline certain key factors and risks that may affect our future results. Investors and others should carefully consider these factors and risks, as well as other uncertainties and potential events, and the inherent uncertainty of forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by the organization or on its behalf, except as required by law. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is presented for the purpose of assisting shareholders and analysts in understanding our financial position as at and for the periods ended on the dates presented, as well as our strategic priorities and objectives, and may not be appropriate for other purposes.
Material economic assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained in this press release include those set out in the Economic Developments and Outlook section of BMO’s 2025 Annual Report, as updated in the Economic Developments and Outlook section and the Risk Management – Geopolitical and Trade Developments section in our Third Quarter 2026 Report to Shareholders, as well as in the Allowance for Credit Losses section of BMO’s 2025 Annual Report, as updated in the Allowance for Credit Losses section in our Third Quarter 2026 Report to Shareholders. Assumptions about the performance of the Canadian and U.S. economies, as well as overall market conditions and their combined effect on our business, are material factors we consider when determining our strategic priorities, objectives and expectations for our business. In determining our expectations for economic growth, we primarily consider historical economic data, past relationships between economic and financial variables, changes in government policies, and the risks to the domestic and global economy.
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For News Media Enquiries:
John Fenton, Toronto, John.Fenton@bmo.com, (416) 867-3996
For Investor Relations Enquiries:
Christine Viau, Toronto, Christine.Viau@bmo.com, (416) 867-6956; Bill Anderson, Toronto, Bill2.Anderson@bmo.com, (416) 867-7834
| Internet: www.bmo.com |
X: @BMOmedia |
|
About BMO Financial Group
BMO Financial Group is the eighth largest bank in North America by assets, with total assets of $1.5 trillion as of April 30, 2026. Serving customers for more than 200 years, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management, global markets and investment banking products and services across Canada, the United States, and select markets globally. BMO is innovating for business value, by deploying and integrating human, digital and artificial intelligence to personalize client experiences, augment teams, and automate its business responsibly. Driven by its purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life, BMO is committed to driving positive change in the world, and making progress for a thriving economy, sustainable future, and stronger communities.
| Internet: www.bmo.com |
X: @BMOmedia |
|