The Daily Chase: BMO trounces profit estimates; TSX in record territory VIDEO SIGN OUT Bank of Montreal opened earnings season this morning pretty much exactly as we anticipated, with remarkable headline year-over-year growth thanks to a sharp drop in credit-loss provisions that powered the profit beat. Indeed, the bank set aside just $60 million in total provisions in the latest quarter. Digging under the surface, the story becomes much messier. Take the U.S. banking unit, for example, where profit surged 76 per cent year-over-year, but fell sequentially. Weâll sift through the details, gather reaction, and size up the outlook for deploying robust war chests that are being built up for whenever Canadaâs banking regulator lifts its moratorium on share buybacks and dividend hikes (BMOâs key capital ratio jumped to 13 per cent as of April 30). v