BMO Recruits UBS Veteran to Lead U.S. Mergers and Acquisitions

David Descoteaux is stepping into a pivotal leadership role at BMO Financial, tasked with heading the bank's U.S. M&A team for capital markets and commercial banking. His appointment concludes a month-long search to unify the Canadian lender's regional divisions as it seeks to capture rising deal flow across North America.

Starting June 1, Descoteaux will report to global head of investment and corporate banking Carrie Cook and U.S. commercial bank head Tony Sciarrino. The reshuffle integrates Cameron Hewes, previously the head of middle market M&A, into a reporting line under Descoteaux to foster tighter coordination on cross-border transactions alongside Canadian M&A head Sarfraz Visram.

Descoteaux arrives from UBS, where he spent nine years managing technology, media, and fintech deals across the Americas. His background includes a 14-year tenure at Lazard, and he brings a specialized focus on private equity, with roughly 70% of his recent transactions involving sponsor-led deals. BMO is betting on this expertise to sustain momentum as Canadian banks lean into advisory income to offset sluggish loan growth caused by ongoing tariff-related market uncertainty.