Bank of Montreal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bank of Montreal Banque de Montréal |
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| Type | Public company |
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| Founded | Montreal, Quebec, Canada, November 3, 1817 |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Key people | Bill Downe, CEO; David A. Galloway, Chairman of the Board |
| Industry | Bank |
| Products | Financial services |
| Revenue |  14,63 billion CAD (2004) |
| Employees | 34,000 |
| Website | http://www.bmo.com |
Bank of Montreal (TSX: BMO, NYSE: BMO) 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; its banking operations in Canada are now marketed as BMO Bank of Montreal.
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[edit] History
Bank of Montreal is Canada's oldest chartered bank. It has been referred to as BMO (from its stock symbol) or Canada's First Bank.
The Bank opened in Montreal, Quebec on November 3, 1817. For the first few years of its existence, the Bank occupied a small building on Saint Paul Street. John Gray, a retired dry goods merchant, was the bank's first president and Robert Griffin worked as the first bank teller.
Bank of Montreal served as Canada's central bank until the creation of the Bank of Canada in 1935. It played a major role in the development of the country, taking part in the financing of the first transcontinental railway in the 1880s. The first Canadian bank to open a branch abroad, Bank of Montreal is today a major international bank with 1,100 branches across Canada and around the world. In 1977, the BMO's operational headquarters moved to Toronto, while its legal head office remained in Montreal.
[edit] 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)
[edit] Past Chairmen
(partial list)
- John Gray (1817 to 1820)
- Richard Bladworth 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)
[edit] 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
The bank's stock is listed on both the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol BMO .
[edit] 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.
[edit] Headquarters
The 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.
[edit] Sport events sponsorship
Bank of Montreal is the current title sponsor for the marathon race for the Vancouver International Marathon Society held each year in Vancouver in May. Current name is BMO Bank of Montreal Vancouver International Marathon, formerly known as Adidas Vancouver International 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 has recently purchased the naming rights to the National Soccer Stadium at Exhibition Place, the future home of Toronto FC beginning in the 2007 season, and became the offical shirt sponsors of the club.
[edit] Recent mergers and merger attempts
[edit] Purchase of Harris Bankcorp (1984)
In 1984 the bank greatly expanded its operations in the United States by purchasing Chicago's Harris Bank.
[edit] Proposed merger with RBC (1998)
In 1998 Bank of Montreal shocked the Canadian financial community by announcing plans to merge with the Royal Bank of Canada. 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.
[edit] 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
[edit] References
- ^ Canadian Business. Bank of Montreal's Q3 Profit Rises 30% to $710M; Eyes More Chinese Expansion. August 22, 2006.
- 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. Montréal : 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
[edit] External links
| Commercial banks in Canada |  |
|---|---|
| AMEX Bank of Canada | ATB Financial | Bank of Montreal | BDC | CIBC | CTFS | Canadian Western Bank | Citibank Canada | Citizens Bank of Canada | First Nations | HSBC Bank Canada | Laurentian Bank | Manulife | National Bank | President's Choice Financial | RBC | Scotiabank | TD Canada Trust | |
| Bank of Montreal | |
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Chief Executive Officer: Bill Downe | FY 2005 Statistics: Net income: $2.4 billion CAD ( |
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| Major brands by financial service | |
| Master: BMO | Financial group: BMO Financial Group | Canadian banking: BMO Bank of Montreal | U.S. banking: Harris | Canadian mutual funds: BMO Mutual Funds and Guardian Group of Funds| Canadian brokerage: BMO InvestorLine and BMO Nesbitt Burns | U.S. brokerage: BMO Harris Investor Services | Canadian insurance: BMO Life | Capital markets: BMO Capital Markets |
