BMO Bank, N.A. (

colloquially Colloquialism (also called ''colloquial language'', ''colloquial speech'', ''everyday language'', or ''general parlance'') is the linguistic style used for casual and informal communication. It is the most common form of speech in conversation am ...

BMO; ) is a U.S. national bank headquartered in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. It is a subsidiary of the Canadian multinational

investment bank Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...

and

financial services Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...

company

Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (, ), abbreviated as BMO (pronounced ), is a Canadian multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank, making it Canada ...

, which owns it through the

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

BMO Financial Corporation (formerly Bankmont Financial Corporation, then Harris Financial Corporation). , it was the 15th largest bank in the United States by total assets. The bank was founded in Chicago in 1882 as N.W. Harris & Co. by

Norman Wait Harris Norman Wait Harris (August 15, 1846 – July 15, 1916) was an American banker. He founded Chicago-based N.W. Harris & Co., the predecessor of Harris Bank as well as its affiliate Harris, Forbes & Co. and later Harris, Hall & Co. Biography Harri ...

before changing its name to Harris Trust and Savings Bank in 1907, and then Harris Bank in 1972. After the Bank of Montreal acquired the company in 1984, it eventually became branded as BMO Harris Bank by 2011. Under the Bank of Montreal's ownership, the company increased its presence in the U.S. through a series of acquisitions of other banks, such as Suburban Bancorp in 1994,

Marshall & Ilsley Marshall & Ilsley Corporation (also known as M&I Bank) was a U.S. bank and diversified financial services corporation headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that was purchased by Bank of Montreal in 2010. The bank was founded in 1847 and by 2008 ...

in 2011, and

Bank of the West Bank of the West was an American financial institution headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States. It had more than 600 branches and offices in the Midwest and Western United States. It was founded in 1874 in San Jose, Californi ...

in 2023. Coinciding with the Bank of the West merger, the U.S. bank announced that it would retire the "BMO Harris Bank" brand in favor of the global "BMO" brand of its Bank of Montreal's parent financial services corporation.

History

In 1882, Norman Wait Harris established N.W. Harris & Co., a Chicago-based municipal bond broker and the forerunner of Harris Bank. Harris Trust and Savings Bank was established in 1907. It merged with Chicago National Bank in 1960 and was restructured as Harris Bank, N.A. in 1972.

(later known as BMO Financial Group) acquired control of Harris in 1984. The bank grew rapidly through a series of acquisitions beginning with the First National Bank of Barrington in 1985, State Bank of St. Charles and First National Bank of Batavia in 1988 and Libertyville Federal Savings Bank and Loan and Frankfort Bancshares in 1990. Harris Bankcorp and Suburban Bancorp combined under the Harris name in 1994 and two years later, the company acquired 54 Chicago area branches from Household Bank. In 1999, the direct brokerage firm Burke, Christensen & Lewis merged with Harris Investors Direct to form Harris InvestorLine. The company's further acquisitions include Freeman Welwood in 2000; Village Bank of

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, and Century Bank (Arizona) and First National Bank of Joliet in 2001; Northwestern Trust and Investors Advisory Company (

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

) in 2002. Also in 2002, InvestorLine combined with CSFBdirect to form Harrisdirect and Harris acquired online client accounts of

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...

Individual Investor Group and

myCFO Harris myCFO is the American wealth management unit of BMO Harris Bank serving high-net-worth individuals and families. In 2002, Harris acquired certain assets of myCFO, Inc., founded by James H. Clark, in a $30 million deal. Harris myCFO ...

. The following year, it purchased Sullivan, Bruyette Speros & Blayney Incorporated, followed by Lakeland Community Bank in Round Lake, and Villa Park Trust and Savings Bank in 2005. BMO continued its acquisitions in 2007 with First National Bank & Trust (

Kokomo, Indiana Kokomo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States. Its population was 60,093 according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimate. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana metropolitan area, Kokomo metropol ...

), followed by Ozaukee Bank, (

Cedarburg, Wisconsin Cedarburg ( ) is a city in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Located about north of Milwaukee and in close proximity to Interstate 43, it is a suburb in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The city incorporated in 1885, and at the tim ...

) and Merchant and Manufacturers Bankcorp Inc., (

New Berlin, Wisconsin New Berlin () is a city in eastern Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 40,451 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Pronunciation Area residents put the accent on ...

) in 2008, and Amcore Bank N.A. (

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...

) on April 23, 2010. On December 17, 2010, Bank of Montreal agreed to purchase

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

-based

Marshall & Ilsley Corporation Marshall & Ilsley Corporation (also known as M&I Bank) was a U.S. bank and diversified financial services corporation headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that was purchased by Bank of Montreal in 2010. The bank was founded in 1847 and by 2008 ...

in an all-stock transaction valued at about US$4.1 billion. Marshall & Ilsley and Harris Bankcorp were both rebranded as BMO Harris. The company restructured as BMO Bankcorp July 5, 2011. In December 2015, the company completed its acquisition of General Electric Capital Corp.'s transportation finance business. BMO was the bank with the second-most deposits in Chicago by June 2018, with 11.5% market share. Also, that month, its BMO Harris division was operating in eight states in the US. In December 2021, Bank of Montreal agreed to purchase

with the intent on merging it with BMO Harris Bank, which would at least double its U.S. presence. The acquisition of Bank of the West was completed in February 2023, and the Bank of the West brand is planned to be absorbed into the global BMO brand by September 2023. Coinciding with this merger, BMO Harris Bank announced that it will retire the combined "BMO Harris" brand and will start to use the global BMO brand of its Canadian parent company. The company will then begin to primarily do business as "BMO Bank N.A." in September 2023 once the integration with Bank of the West is completed. File:Norman Wait Harris.png,

(c. 1911), founder of N.W. Harris & Co., later Harris Trust & Savings Bank

Operations

BMO is one of the largest banks in the Midwest with over 600 branches and approximately 1,300 ATMs in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Arizona, Florida and California. It is the second-largest Chicago-area bank based on market share, behind

JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational financial services, finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is List of largest banks in the United States, the largest ba ...

, and the second largest US subsidiary of a Canadian bank after TD Bank, N.A. (owned by the

Toronto-Dominion Bank Toronto-Dominion Bank (), doing business as TD Bank Group (), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The bank was created on February 1, 1955, through the merger of the Bank of ...

). BMO is the issuer of the

Diners Club A diner is a type of restaurant found across the United States and Canada, as well as parts of Western Europe and Australia. Diners offer a wide range of cuisine, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a comb ...

cards in the United States.

Headquarters

BMO was headquartered in a complex of three buildings in Chicago's Loop neighborhood. The original 21-story building was constructed in 1910 at 119 West Monroe Street. The entrance to the building is flanked by two

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

sculptures of lions, which inspired various iterations of the bank's logo until 2011, along with the bank's

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

character, Hubert the Lion. In 1960, a 23-story structure was added to the east with the address of 111 West Monroe. In 1974, a second 38-story tower was added to the west, with the address of 115 South LaSalle Street. Both additions were designed by the firm of

Skidmore, Owings and Merrill SOM, an initialism of its original name Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, is a Chicago-based architectural, urban planning, and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings. In 1939, they were joined by enginee ...

and are in the

modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

style. The bank uses the address of the 1960 building. In December 2018, the bank announced it would move its headquarters to 14 floors of a 50-story office tower adjacent to

Chicago Union Station Chicago Union Station is an Inter-city rail, intercity and commuter rail terminal station, terminal located in the West Loop neighborhood of the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side of Chicago. Amtrak's flagship station in the Midwest, Uni ...

. The new BMO Tower opened in 2022. Additionally, notable BMO buildings are located in

( BMO Harris Financial Center), at 770 North Water Street, and

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

( BMO Plaza). In 2017, the bank began construction of a 25-story BMO Tower at North Water and East Wells, adjacent to its current Milwaukee headquarters. The bank expects to occupy of the building beginning in December 2019. In August 2017, BMO sold the 20-story structure it currently occupies to real estate firm Irgens, which plans to remodel and lease it.

Naming rights and sponsorships

BMO owns corporate

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

to the following: *

BMO Stadium BMO Stadium (formerly Banc of California Stadium) is a soccer-specific stadium in the Exposition Park, Los Angeles, Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of Major League Soccer's Los Angeles FC ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

* BMO Center in

* BMO Pavilion at

Summerfest Summerfest is an annual music festival held in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. First held in 1968, Summerfest is located at Henry Maier Festival Park, adjacent to Lake Michigan and Milwaukee's Third Ward business district. Summerfest is known ...

– Official Sponsor of Summerfest. BMO Bank is a sponsor of: *

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

– Official bank of the Chicago Blackhawks. *

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

– Official bank of the Chicago Bulls. *

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

– Official partner of the Chicago White Sox. *

Los Angeles FC Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Los Angeles. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. It was establi ...

– Official bank and shirt sponsor of Los Angeles FC. *

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

– Official bank of the Milwaukee Bucks. *

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

– Official partner of the Minnesota Wild. *

Rockford IceHogs The Rockford IceHogs are a professional ice hockey team based in Rockford, Illinois. They are members of the American Hockey League (AHL), having begun play in the League starting in the 2007–08 season. The team plays their home games at the ...

of the AHL, the

affiliate – Official bank of the Rockford IceHogs. *

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

Athletics – Official partner of the UW-Madison Badgers.

References

External links

* {{Bank of Montreal Banks based in Illinois

Harris Bank BMO Bank, N.A. (colloquially BMO; ) is a U.S. national bank headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It is a subsidiary of the Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company Bank of Montreal, which owns it through the holding ...