BMO exploring sale of transportation finance arm, Bloomberg News reports
The bank has been lining up for potential buyers of the business, which could attract private equity firms and private credit players, as per the report, opens new tab.
No final decision has been made in regards to the business — which has about $11 billion in assets — and BMO might opt to hold onto it, Bloomberg said.
Bank of Montreal did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The bank's transportation finance arm provides loans and leases, which are tailored primarily for trucks and trailers across North America. It also serves inventory financing and fleet cost management needs for the sector.
Bank of Montreal had acquired, opens new tab General Electric Capital Corporation's transportation finance business about a decade ago, to boost its commercial banking at the time.
The bank has made several key executive changes in the recent past to foster growth and expand its footprint in the United States.
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BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Air Canada strike: Hundreds of flights grounded as industrial action begins
Air Canada has suspended all its flights as a strike by cabin staff begins - a move the airline said will disrupt travel plans for around 130,000 passengers a union representing more than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants confirmed the 72-hour industrial action early on Saturday morning. The airline said it had suspended all flights, including those under its budget arm Air Canada Rouge, and advised affected customers not to travel to the airport unless flying with a different Canada's flight attendants are calling for higher salaries and to be paid for work when aircraft are on the ground. The strike took effect at 00:58 ET (04:58 GMT) on Saturday, though Air Canada began scaling back its operations before then. The airline says around 500 flights will be affected per attendants will picket at major Canadian airports, where passengers were already trying to secure new bookings earlier in the Canada, which flies directly to 180 cities worldwide, said it had "suspended all operations" and that it was "strongly advising affected customers not to go to the airport".It added that Air Canada Jazz, PAL Airlines and Air Canada Express flights were unaffected by the strike."Air Canada deeply regrets the effect the strike is having on customers," it Friday night, the airline said it had cancelled 623 flights affecting more than 100,000 passengers, as part of a winding down of operations ahead of the contract negotiations, the airline said it had offered flight attendants a 38% increase in total compensation over four years, with a 25% raise in the first said the offer was "below inflation, below market value, below minimum wage" and would still leave flight attendants unpaid for some hours of work, including boarding and waiting at airports ahead of union and the airline have publicly traded barbs about each other's willingness to reach an this month, 99.7% of employees represented by the union voted for a jobs minister Patty Hajdu this week urged Air Canada and the union to return to the bargaining table to avoid a also said in a statement that Air Canada had asked her to refer the dispute to binding has asserted that it had been negotiating in good faith for more than eight months, but that Air Canada instead sought government-directed arbitration."When we stood strong together, Air Canada didn't come to the table in good faith," the union said in a statement to its members. "Instead, they called on the federal government to step in and take those rights away."
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Air Canada suspends all operations sparking travel chaos – what to do with flight tickets
AIR Canada has sparked travel chaos after suspending all of its operations. Customers have been left scrambling for help after the airline announced on Saturday morning that all flights are grounded due to employee strikes. 2 2 The strikes, led by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, will impact an estimated 130,000 passengers a day, according to the airline. Flight attendants walked out at 1 a.m. on Saturday after the airline refused to accept new contract negotiations, Canadian Union of Public Employees spokesman Hugh Pouliot confirmed. Only regional Air Canada Express flights operated by Jazz Aviation and PAL Airlines are not affected. "Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge carry approximately 130,000 customers a day who could be affected by a disruption, this includes the 25,000 Canadians that the airline flies home from abroad each day, who could be stranded," it said in a statement before the strike was confirmed. The airline announced it will begin a phased shutdown as the first flights began being canceled on August 14 as the airline and the union took to the negotiating table. "The company has made arrangements with other Canadian and foreign carriers to provide customers alternative travel options to the extent possible,' it added. 'Customers will be notified of alternative travel options that are identified for them. "However, given other carriers are already very full due to the summer travel peak, securing such capacity will take time and, in many cases, will not be immediately possible." The airline said travelers whose flights are canceled can ask for a full refund should they opt not to travel on alternative flight arrangements made for them. Although Air Canada doesn't fly domestically in the US, the airline does serve as a carrier for international connections, which could affect American flyers on a connecting flight. Chaos as UK airspace meltdown strikes again and grounds all outbound flights An estimated 27,000 American customers are expected to be impacted by the cancellations, according to Air Advisor. US customers should continuously check their flight status to ensure that their flight has not been cancelled or rebooked. While the duration of the strike is unknown, passengers with flexible travel plans can rebook their flights between August 21 and September 12 at no additional cost. It is not yet known how long disruption could last as Air Canada Chief Operating Officer Mark Nasr said it could take up to a week to fully restart operations once any kind of deal is reached. Air Canada noted that since the strike is out of the airline's control, it is not legally required to provide compensation for food and lodging expenses. CONTRACT ISSUES The strike comes after eight months of negotiations between Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees. Air Canada Strike statement 'We regret the impact a disruption will have on our customers, our stakeholders and the communities we serve. However, the disappointing conduct of CUPE's negotiators and the union's stated intention to launch a strike puts us in a position where our only responsible course of action is to provide certainty by implementing an orderly suspension of Air Canada's and Air Canada Rouge's operations through a lockout. As we have seen elsewhere in our industry with other labour disruptions, unplanned or uncontrolled shutdowns, such as we are now at risk of through a strike, can create chaos for travellers that is far, far worse,' said Michael Rousseau, President and Chief Executive of Air Canada. 'Our latest offer included a 38 per cent increase in total compensation over four years that would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada, along with provisions for ground pay and other work-life balance, career and pension improvements. At the same time, we asked for no concessions from the union. Given this, while we remain available for discussions with CUPE, we have requested government-directed arbitration as we now view it as the only certain avenue to bring closure to bargaining and mitigate the impact on travellers, business and the Canadian economy.' Flight attendants are asking the airline for higher pay and for on-ground pay. Currently, flight attendants only receive pay for their time spent flying, which doesn't include boarding passengers or deplaning. 'The disappointing conduct of CUPE's negotiators and the union's stated intention to launch a strike puts us in a position where our only responsible course of action is to provide certainty by implementing an orderly suspension of Air Canada's and Air Canada Rouge's operations through a lockout,' said Michael Rousseau, President and Chief Executive of Air Canada. 'Our latest offer included a 38 per cent increase in total compensation over four years that would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada, along with provisions for ground pay and other work-life balance, career and pension improvements. 'At the same time, we asked for no concessions from the union. Given this, while we remain available for discussions with CUPE, we have requested government-directed arbitration as we now view it as the only certain avenue to bring closure to bargaining and mitigate the impact on travellers, business and the Canadian economy.' Flight attendant Henly Larden told the Associated Press that the union won't stop fighting until all its demands are met, with an emphasis on ground pay. 'Just because it's a past practice doesn't mean here in 2025 that it's OK or it's right, and we want to change that going forward,' she said.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Travel chaos as Air Canada suspends ALL operations
Air Canada has cancelled hundreds of flights and suspended all operations following a massive strike by unionized flight attendants. The airline was forced to ground planes after 10,000 staff walked out amid a bitter contract dispute. The industrial action began on Saturday at around 1am ET and immediately saw all 700 flights per day the airline offers cancelled. Around 130,000 people could be impacted for every day the strike continues. Air Canada is the foreign carrier with the largest number of flights to the U.S. Flight attendants are seeking changes which would see them be paid for time spent on the ground between flights and helping passengers board. The feud escalated Friday, after the union turned down the airline's request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which would eliminate its right to strike and allow a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract. Canadian Union of Public Employees spokesman Hugh Pouliot confirmed the strike has started after no deal was reached and operations were halted shortly after. Air Canada said it planned to begin locking flight attendants out of airports as the walkout commenced. Canada's Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu met with both the airline and union on Friday night and urged them to work harder to them to reach a deal 'once and for all'. 'It is unacceptable that such little progress has been made. Canadians are counting on both parties to put forward their best efforts,' Hajdu said in a statement posted on social media. Pouliot, the spokesman for the union, earlier said the union had a meeting with Hajdu and representatives from Air Canada earlier Friday evening. 'CUPE has engaged with the mediator to relay our willingness to continue bargaining - despite the fact that Air Canada has not countered our last two offers since Tuesday,' he said in a email. 'We´re here to bargain a deal, not to go on strike.' A complete shutdown will impact about 130,000 people a day, and some 25,000 Canadians a day may be stranded abroad. Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day. Montreal resident Alex Laroche, 21, and his girlfriend had been saving since Christmas for their European vacation. Their $8,000 trip with nonrefundable lodging is on the line as they wait to hear from Air Canada about the fate of their Saturday night flight to Nice, France. The length of the strike is yet to be determined, but Air Canada Chief Operating Officer Mark Nasr has said it could take up to a week to fully restart operations once a tentative deal is reached. Passengers whose travel is impacted will be eligible to request a full refund on the airline's website or mobile app, according to Air Canada. The airline said it would also offer alternative travel options through other Canadian and foreign airlines when possible. But it warned that it could not guarantee immediate rebooking because flights on other airlines are already full 'due to the summer travel peak.' Laroche said he considered booking new flights with a different carrier, but he said most of them are nearly full and cost more than double the $3,000 they paid for their original tickets. 'At this point, it´s just a waiting game,' he said. Laroche said he was initially upset over the union´s decision to go on strike, but that he had a change of heart after reading about the key issues at the center of the contract negotiations, including the issue of wages. 'Their wage is barely livable,' Laroche said. Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees have been in contract talks for about eight months, but they have yet to reach a tentative deal. Both sides say they remain far apart on the issue of pay and the unpaid work flight attendants do when planes aren´t in the air. The airline´s latest offer included a 38 percent increase in total compensation, including benefits and pensions over four years, that it said 'would have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada.' But the union pushed back, saying the proposed 8 percent raise in the first year didn´t go far enough because of inflation.
