Bank of the West was an American financial institution headquartered in San Francisco, California, with more than 600 branches and offices in the Midwest and Western United States. It was founded in 1874 in San Jose, California, as the Farmers National Gold Bank of San Jose. Bank of the West was owned by the French banking group BNP from 1979 to 2023. In February 2023, the Canadian banking group Bank of Montreal (BMO) completed its acquisition of Bank of the West from BNP Paribas, with the intention of absorbing it into BMOs U.S. subsidiary BMO Harris Bank. The acquisition added nearly 1.8 million customers to BMO, extending its banking presence with 500 additional branches and offices. Bank of the West signage in the Denver metro area began reflecting the BMO acquisition in July 2023, and the conversion of the banks systems was expected in early September. Over the ensuing Labor Day weekend, the Bank of the West brand was retired, and all accounts and branches from both subsidiaries were converted and merged into the renamed BMO Bank, N.A. by September 5.