Bank of Montreal
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BMO Bank of Montreal Template:Tsx Template:Nyse, formerly known as simply Bank of Montreal, is Canada's oldest chartered bank. Bank of Montreal opened in Montreal, Quebec on November 3, 1817. For the first few years of its existence, the Bank occupied a small building on rue Saint-Paul. John Grey, a retired dry goods merchant, was the first President of the Bank and Robert Griffin worked as the first cashier.
The 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, the Bank of Montreal is today a major international bank with 1,100 branches across Canada and around the world.
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History
The Bank of Montreal is Canada's oldest chartered bank and began business in 1817. It has been referred to as BMO or Canada's First Bank. Its official name is now BMO Bank of Montreal.
Mergers
Through its history, Bank of Montreal has merged with 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)
- Molson Bank (1925)
Operations
BMO Bank of Montreal is one division within BMO Financial Group:
- BMO Bank of Montreal - banking services
- BMO Harris - US Operations
- BMO InvestorLine
- BMO Life
- BMO Nesbitt Burns
The bank's stock is listed on both the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol BMO.
Recent mergers and merger attempts
Merger with Harris Bankcorp (1984)
In 1984 the bank greatly expanded its operations in the United States by purchasing Chicago's Harris Bankcorp.
Proposed merger with RBC (1998)
In 1998 the 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.
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
External link
- BMO Bank of Montreal's web site (http://www.bmo.com)fr:Banque de Montréal