On December 16, 2015, Bank of Montreal quietly withdrew its SEC registration statement for covered bonds.  The registration statement became effective on November 8, 2013.   The registration statement was originally filed in July 2013.   Prior to the filing, BMO had obtained a no-action letter from the SEC staff to permit the Guarantor to register its Guarantee on the same shelf registration statement as the bond to be issued by the bank. 

On inquiry, BMO reports that there were a number of reasons for their withdrawal of the registrations statement.  One of the reasons for the withdrawal was the prospect of needing to comply with the loan-level disclosure requirements of Regulation AB beginning in November 2016.   That compliance requirement arose from the conditions imposed on BMO by the no-action letter.   BMO cited the uncertainty of its ability under Canadian law to provide the information required and the significant cost of altering its systems nationwide to collect the information.

This is the first of the three Canadian banks with SEC registration statements to react publicly to the new loan-level disclosure requirements imposed by the SEC.   (See Regulation AB II and Canadian Covered Bonds– the end of SEC registered covered bonds?).   This action suggests that the other two banks, Bank of Nova Scotia and Royal bank of Canada, may cease issuing SEC registered covered bonds by the November 2016 date.   Neither of the two banks, however, has publicly stated its intent in this regard.