US brokerage Credit Suisse First Boston said today it would sell its online trading unit CSFBdirect to Canada's Bank of Montreal for $520 million.
The move is seen as another effort by the Wall Street firm to reduce costs amid slumping markets and a recession.
The deal would give Bank of Montreal a foothold in the online-trading business and will allow Credit Suisse to focus on its core business.
Under the terms of the deal, Bank of Montreal would absorb CSFBdirect, which used to be known as DLJdirect, into its online unit, Harris InvestorLine.
In August CSFB completed its purchase of the formerly public unit, taking it private for about $110 million. Before it was taken private, CSFBdirect reported a net loss of $12.6 million, nearly twice the loss of the year-earlier period, along with a 28 percent drop in revenue to $64 million.