Former AIMco CEO Evan Siddall, pictured in Calgary, Alta., in 2022, has joined BMO's capital markets division as vice-chair.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Bank of Montreal BMO-T has hired former Alberta Investment Management Corp. chief executive officer Evan Siddall as vice-chair of its capital markets division, according to three sources.
Alberta’s government dismissed Mr. Siddall and the board last year, citing the need for a clean slate owing to rising costs at the public-sector pension manager. As a vice-chair at BMO, he will work with various teams in an advisory capacity with the bank’s most senior clients, according to one of the sources.
Mr. Siddall was tapped for his client relationships across Canada and within private equity across North America, the source said.
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The Globe is not identifying the sources because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
BMO declined a request for comment from The Globe.
Mr. Siddall joined AIMCo in 2021 following a period of upheaval at the pension manager, which was triggered by a $2.1-billion investment loss early in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Previously, he was the CEO of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. He has also worked in investment banking positions at Goldman Sachs, Lazard and BMO, as well as in advisory roles with the Bank of Canada and as a senior executive at Irving Oil Ltd.
Canada’s third-largest lender by market capitalization has been focused on improving its return on equity, after purchasing California-based Bank of the West in 2023 for US$16.3-billion.
In its third-quarter results released in August, BMO’s adjusted return on equity rose to 12 per cent from 10.6 per cent in the same period a year prior.
On Nov. 3, BMO closed its takeover of employee-owned Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. to expand the bank’s wealth-management platform. The Toronto-based firm managed about $27-billion for wealthy clients and institutions.