BANK OF MONTREAL

'Bank of Montreal' (, ) is Canada's fourth largest bank^[1], and is classified as a Domestic Chartered Bank (Schedule I). It also has substantial operations in the Chicago area and elsewhere in the United States, where it uses the Harris name. Bank of Montreal was founded in 1817, making it Canada's oldest bank. It operates under the corporate brand 'BMO Financial Group' (where "BMO" is pronounced "''bee-mo''"); its banking operations in Canada are now marketed as 'BMO Bank of Montreal'.

Contents

History

Mergers

Founders

Past Chairmen

Operations

Corporate governance

Headquarters

Sport events sponsorship

Recent mergers and merger attempts

Purchase of Harris Bankcorp (1984)

Proposed merger with RBC (1998)

Membership

References

External links

History

BMO today a major international bank with 1,100 branches across Canada and around the world. In 1977, BMO's operational headquarters moved to Toronto, while its legal head office remained in Montreal.

Mergers

During its history, Bank of Montreal has merged with or acquired several other Canadian banks:

★ Commercial Bank of Canada (1868)

★ Exchange Bank of Yarmouth (1903)

★ People's Bank of Halifax (1905)

★ People's Bank of New Brunswick (1907)

★ Bank of British North America (1918)

★ Merchants Bank of Canada (1922), as well as several investment banking firms.

★ Molson Bank(1925)

Founders

★ Ezekiel Hart (May 15, 1770 - September 16, 1843)

★ Robert Armour (1781-1857) businessman, militia officer, and office holder

★ George Moffatt (1787-1865); bank director

★ James Leslie (September 4, 1786 – December 6, 1873); bank director

★ Augustin Cuvillier

★ Horatio Gates (banker) (1777-1834), merchant and banker, President of BMO 1832-1834

★ John Gray (c. 1755 – 13 September 1829)

★ George Davies (banker)

Past Chairmen

(partial list)

★ John Gray (1817 to 1820); co-founder

★ Horatio Gates 1832-1834; co-founder

★ DUcnadj Angus (1910 to 1913)

★ H. Vincent Meredith

★ William D. Mulholland (1974 to 1987)

★ Matthew W. Barrett (1987 to 1990)

★ F. Anthony Comper (1990 to 2007)

★ Bill Downe (from March 1, 2007)

Operations

BMO is divided into three "client groups" which serve different markets. Each of the client groups operates under multiple brand names.

★ 'Personal and Commercial Client Group' (retail banking), including

★
★ ''BMO Bank of Montreal'' (retail banking in Canada), including BMO's ''Mosaik Mastercard'' credit cards; ''BMO Life'', a life insurance company; and the former virtual bank division mbanx

★
★ Harris Bank (retail banking in the United States, headquartered in Chicago)

★ 'Investment Banking Group' (known as ''BMO Capital Markets'')

★ 'Private Client Group' (wealth management), including

★
★ ''BMO Nesbitt Burns'' (full service investing in Canada)

★
★ ''BMO InvestorLine'' (self-service investing in Canada)

★
★ ''Harris Investor Services'' (advisory services in the United States)

★
★ ''BMO Harris Private Banking''
In 2007, Bank of Montreal was named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers, as published in Maclean's magazine, the only 'Schedule A' bank to receive this honour.^[2]

Corporate governance

Current members of the board of directors of BMO are: Robert Astley, Stephen Bachand, David Beatty, Robert Chevrier, Bill Downe, Ronald Farmer, David A. Galloway, Harold Kvisle, Eva L. Kwok, Bruce Mitchell, Philip Orsino, Robert Prichard, Jeremy Reitman, Guylaine Saucier, and Nancy Southern.

Headquarters

BMO still has its legal head office in Montreal, located on Saint-Jacques Street. However, the Chairman and President and all senior department executives work out of Toronto headquarters at First Canadian Place. Under the direction of the Toronto executive, the Montreal Place d'Armes office oversees the bank's economic (and, to some extent, political) relation with the province of Quebec. This reflects the preponderant place of the Toronto Stock Exchange and Bay Street in the Canadian economy.

Sport events sponsorship

BMO Bank of Montreal is the current title sponsor for the marathon race for the Vancouver International Marathon Society held each year in May. The current name is "BMO Bank of Montreal Vancouver Marathon".
Bank of Montreal is also a major sponsor of Skate Canada, and is the title sponsor of the
BMO Financial Group Canadian Championships, BMO Financial Group Skate Canada Junior Nationals, BMO Financial Group Skate Canada Challenges, BMO Financial Group Skate Canada Sectionals, and BMO Financial Group Skate Canada Synchronized Championships. It is also the presenting sponsor of the CanSkate Learn-to-Skate Program.[1]
BMO purchased the naming rights to the national soccer stadium (BMO Field) at Exhibition Place in Toronto, the home of the Major League Soccer team Toronto FC, which BMO is also sponsoring. BMO's logo is on the front of their jersey.

Recent mergers and merger attempts

Purchase of Harris Bankcorp (1984)

In 1984 the bank greatly expanded its operations in the United States by purchasing Chicago's Harris Bank.

Proposed merger with RBC (1998)

In 1998 Bank of Montreal shocked the Canadian financial community by announcing plans to merge with RBC. The Canadian government later blocked the proposed merger. In December 2000, the banks were successful in merging their credit and debit card processing services to form Moneris Solutions.

Membership

BMO is a member of the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) and registered member with the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC), a federal agency insuring deposits at all of Canada's chartered banks. It is also a member of:

★ Interac

★ MasterCard International

★ Cirrus Network for MasterCard card users

★ Air Miles

References

1. Canadian Business. Bank of Montreal's Q3 Profit Rises 30% to 0M; Eyes More Chinese Expansion. August 22, 2006.
2. Reasons for Selection, 2007 Canada's Top 100 Employers


★ Denison, Merrill, 1893-1975. ''Canada's first bank : a history of the Bank of Montreal.'' Toronto : McClelland and Stewart, c1966. 2 v. : ill., maps, ports., (some folded, some col). ; 25 cm.

★ Nolin-Raynauld, Michelle, 1926-. ''The Bank of Montreal building on Place d'Armes, 1845-1901'' / Michelle Nolin-Raynauld ; foreword by Jean Bélisle ; translated by Judith Berman. Montreal : Varia Press, c1999. 143 p. : facsm., ill., plans ; 23 cm. Originally presented as the author's thesis (master--Université de Montréal), 1984, under the title: L'architecture de la Banque de Montréal à la Place d'Armes. Translation of: L'édifice de la Banque de Montréal à la Place d'Armes, 1845-1901. ISBN 2922245128

External links

★ BMO Bank of Montreal's web site

★ BMO Bank of Montreal's Rewards site

★ BMO 2006 Annual Report

★ BMO stock quote from TSX

★ Interwiki: BMO's nascent internal wiki site