BMO to shutter retail auto finance business as bad debt mounts

BMO Financial Group says it will close its retail auto finance business in order to reroute resources following a rise in bad debt. The Bank of Montreal also says the decision will trigger an unspecified number of layoffs in Canada and the U.S. It comes after the company's bad debt provisions more than tripled to $492 million in the quarter ended July 31 compared to a year earlier.Top business headlines, all in one placeIn its retail line, the bank's provisions for credit losses rose 800 per cen