The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Bank of Montreal is betting on a revival in its U.S. business to bolster its beleaguered profitability. The Globe's Stefanie Marotta writes that BMO chief executive officer Darryl White said that while its U.S. division's return on equity has underperformed expectations, the bank is continuing to rejig the business to boost growth. "ROE has been below the peer average and below our medium-term objectives, and we have taken deliberate actions to address this gap," Mr. White told investors at the bank's investor day conference in Toronto. In 2024, BMO set a goal of improving its return on equity to 15 per cent by the end of 2027. The bank has taken big strides to get there. In the first quarter ended Jan. 31, the lender posted ROE of 12.4 per cent, up from 9.8 per cent when it set the goal at the end of 2024. The U.S. business -- which makes up 40 per cent of BMO's earnings -- is the division dragging down the bank's profitability. The bank set a target to improve the unit's ROE from 8 per cent to 12 per cent by 2028. In 2024, BMO set a goal of improving its return on equity to 15 per cent by the end of 2027. Last year, BMO combined its U.S. operations under one unit.