By DESIBUZZCanada Staff With News Files

TORONTO – Bank of Montreal’s (BMO) current executive vice-president Nadim Hirji has been promoted to group head of BMO’s commercial banking unit, effective March 1, the bank said Wednesday. 

The move comes as the bank has shifted its top ranks in its U.S. and commercial businesses as the lender expands into new markets south of the border. Hirji’s elevation The allows David Casper, BMO’s U.S. chief executive officer, to focus on the lender’s growth in the segment as it expands with its acquisition of California-based Bank of the West.

Casper previously held dual roles as head of both the U.S. arm and commercial banking in North America.

With BMO completing its $17.1-billion purchase of Bank of the West on Feb. 1, Casper will be working on integrating the largest-ever purchase of a U.S. bank by a Canadian lender. The deal broadens the bank’s footprint beyond the Midwest by moving into fast-growing California, doubling the size of its U.S. branch network to more than 1,000 locations and adding 1.8 million customers, reported Globe & Mail Newspaper.

Hirji is currently the executive vice-president and head of commercial banking in Canada, a role he has held since 2016. He joined BMO in its commercial unit in 2003 before moving into the bank’s enterprise risk and portfolio management group.