The hefty allowances and provisions taken by trucking lender BMO in the third quarter did not slow credit deterioration in the fourth, and those financial steps to protect the bank against bad debt continued to rise.
BMO is a leading lender to the trucking sector, both in Canada and the U.S. Its quarterly earnings report, and its breakout of data on its lending sectors, including transportation, provides insight into credit conditions among borrowers. The transportation sector at BMO is believed to be made up of about 90% clients in trucking.
BMO’s provisions for credit losses in the transportation sector rose to CA$85 million ($60.46 million) in the fourth quarter ended Oct. 31, according to the earnings release published Thursday. (All figures below are in Canadian dollars.)
That is up from $77 million in the third quarter, $56 million in the second and $41 million in the first. A year ago, in the fourth quarter of 2023, the figure was $26 million.