The Bank of Montreal (, ), abbreviated as BMO (pronounced ), is a 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. The bank was founded in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank, making it Canada's oldest bank. In 2023, the company’s seat in the ''Forbes'' Global 2000 was 84. Its head office is in Montreal and its operational headquarters and executive offices are located in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, since 1977. It is commonly known by its ticker symbol BMO on both the

Toronto Stock Exchange The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; ) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the List of stock exchanges, 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in th ...

and the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

. In April 2024, it had CA$1.37 trillion in total assets. The Bank of Montreal swift code is BOFMCAM2 and the institution number is 001. In Canada, BMO has more than 900 branches and more than 1000 in the United States, serving over 13 million customers globally. In the United States, BMO does business as BMO Financial Group, where it has substantial operations in the

Chicago 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 ...

area and elsewhere in the country, where it operates '' BMO Bank, N.A.''. BMO Capital Markets is BMO's investment and corporate banking division, while the wealth management division is branded as

BMO Nesbitt Burns The Bank of Montreal (, ), abbreviated as BMO (pronounced ), is a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank, making it Canada's oldest bank. In 2 ...

. On 12 December 2021, the Bank of Montreal announced the strategic acquisition of

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 ...

from

BNP Paribas BNP Paribas (; sometimes referred to as BNPP or BNP) is a French multinational universal bank and financial services holding company headquartered in Paris. It was founded in 2000 from the merger of two of France's foremost financial instituti ...

for US$16.3 billion.

History

19th century

The bank was established on 23 June 1817 when a group of merchants signed the Articles of Association, formally creating the "Montreal Bank". The signors of the document include Robert Armour, John C. Bush,

Austin Cuvillier Austin Cuvillier (August 20, 1779 – July 11, 1849) was a businessman and political figure in Lower Canada and Canada East. He was a successful ''Canadien'' businessmen, unusual when most businessmen in Lower Canada were British. He also w ...

, George Garden,

Horatio Gates Horatio Lloyd Gates (July 26, 1727April 10, 1806) was a British-born American army officer who served as a general in the Continental Army during the early years of the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War. He took credit for the Ameri ...

, James Leslie, George Moffatt, John Richardson, and Thomas A. Turner. The bank was first located in rooms rented on Rue Saint-Paul,

, before moving to its permanent building on Rue Saint-Paul in 1818. In the same year, the bank opened its first branch in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

; and several offices in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

, including

Amherstburg Amherstburg is a town near the mouth of the Detroit River in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. In 1796, Fort Malden was established here, stimulating growth in the settlement. The fort has been designated as a National Historic Site. The town ...

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, and

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

(present day

). The bank also opened its first foreign permanent office in 1818, opening an office in Willam Street in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

By 1822, the bank converted from the status it had held since its founding as a private company owned by a small group of people into a public company owned by 144. At this time, it became officially known by its current name. Expansion into Upper Canada was halted in 1824, after legislation from the

Parliament of Upper Canada The Parliament of Upper Canada was the legislature for Upper Canada. It was created when the old Province of Quebec was split into Upper Canada and Lower Canada by the Constitutional Act of 1791. As in other Westminster-style legislatures, it ...

forbade bank branches whose head offices were not based in Upper Canada from operating. In 1838, the bank reentered the Upper Canadian market with the purchase of the Bank of the People, a bank based in Toronto. BMO was permitted to open its own branches in the area, after Upper Canada and

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

were united to create the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

in 1841. Shortly after the two colonies merged, the bank opened branches into Cobourg, Belleville,

Brockville Brockville is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically Independent city, independent of the county. It is included with Leeds and ...

, and

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

. Expansion into

the Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of ...

and

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

was facilitated following

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation () was the process by which three British North American provinces—the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were united into one federation, called the Name of Canada#Adoption of Dominion, Dominion of Ca ...

. In 1877, the bank opened its first branch in Western Canada, with the opening of a branch in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. New branches were also opened in the Maritimes, in Halifax,

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. Th ...

, and Saint John completed shortly after Confederation. The Bank of Montreal established branches in

Newfoundland Colony Newfoundland was an English, and later British, colony established in 1610 on the island of Newfoundland. That followed decades of sporadic English settlement on the island, which was at first only seasonal. Newfoundland was made a Crown colony ...

on 31 January 1895, at the behest of the colonial government. The colonial government of Newfoundland made the request to the Bank of Montreal four days after the collapse of the Commercial Bank and Union Bank of Newfoundland on 10 December 1894.

20th century

By 1907, the bank had branches in every province of

Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (), is the list of regions of Canada, region of Eastern Canada comprising four provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. As of 2021, the landma ...

, with the opening of a branch in

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlott ...

. Expansion into the Maritimes was further facilitated with the acquisition of the Exchange Bank of Yarmouth in 1903, the People's Bank of Halifax in 1905, and the People's Bank of New Brunswick in 1906. The early 20th century also saw the bank acquire several financial institutions that helped increase its presence in Newfoundland, and areas west of Quebec, including the

Ontario Bank Ontario Bank was an early bank operating in Ontario, Canada. It began operations in 1857 and was last listed as a member of the Canadian Bankers Association in 1901. The bank was founded in Bowmanville, Ontario by John Simpson (Ontario politic ...

in 1906, the

Bank of British North America The Bank of British North America was founded by royal charter issued in 1836 in London, England. British North America was the common name by which the British colonies and territories that now comprise Canada were known prior to 1867. By 189 ...

in 1918, and the Merchants Bank of Canada in 1921. During this period, the bank also acquired the Montreal-based Molson Bank in 1925. In 1942, the bank ended production of its own bank notes, which were in circulation in Canada since 1871. By 1944, the

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the mo ...

of the country, the

Bank of Canada The Bank of Canada (BoC; ) is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation and Canada's central bank. Chartered in 1934 under the ''Bank of Canada Act'', it is responsible for formulating Canada's monetary policy,OECD. OECD Economic Surve ...

became the sole issuer of currency in Canada, and notes from private banks were withdrawn. In 1960, the Bank of Montreal moved its operational headquarters to a seventeen-storey structure next to its historic head office. The

building A building or edifice is an enclosed Structure#Load-bearing, structure with a roof, walls and window, windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, a ...

served as the bank's operational headquarters until 1977, when it was moved to

First Canadian Place First Canadian Place is a skyscraper in the Financial District of Toronto, Ontario, at the northwest corner of King and Bay streets, and serves as the global operational executive office of the Bank of Montreal. At , it is the tallest buildin ...

Bay Street Bay Street is a major thoroughfare in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the centre of Toronto's Financial District, Toronto, Financial District and is often used by metonymy to refer to Economy of Canada, Canada's financial services indust ...

in 1977. The structure was named after the bank's slogan at the time, ''The First Canadian Bank'', which was introduced in 1969, and was prominent in much of the bank's advertising during the 1970's, most notably in television commercials featuring Canadian actor

Leslie Nielsen Leslie William Nielsen (February 11, 1926November 28, 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters. He made his a ...

. The bank's present "M-Bar" logo was also introduced during this time, in 1967. However, the bank's legal headquarters remains at the historic Montreal head office, with First Canadian Place formally listed as the "executive office" of the bank. In 1984, the bank acquired Chicago-based Harris Bank (through its parent, Harris Bankcorp), later rebranded as BMO Harris Bank. In 1987, the bank acquired stock brokerage Nesbitt, Thomson and Company. Several years later, the bank assumed control of two retail branches formerly belonging to the Standard Chartered Bank of Canada. In 1994, the Bank of Montreal became the first Canadian bank to be listed on the

. In 1995, the bank opened its first branch in

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

, formally receiving a license to operate the branch on 20 November 1996. In doing so the bank became the first Canadian bank to receive a license to operate in China. During the 1990s, BMO acquired a number of other banks in the

Chicago area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities ...

, merging them under the Harris Bank name, including Suburban Bancorp in 1994; and Household Bank in 1999. In 1998, the Bank of Montreal and the

Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; ) is a Canadian multinational Financial institution, financial services company and the Big Five (banks), largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 20 million clients and has more than ...

announced they had agreed to a merger pending approval from the government. Government regulators later blocked the proposed merger, along with a similar proposal 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 ...

to merge with the

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; ) is a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District, Toronto, Financial District of Toronto, Ont ...

. Although the banks did not merge, in 2000, the Bank of Montreal, together with the Royal Bank of Canada, merged their merchant

payment processor A payment processor is a system that enables financial transactions, commonly employed by a merchant, to handle transactions with customers from various channels such as credit cards and debit cards or bank accounts. They are usually broken do ...

businesses to form

Moneris Solutions Moneris (formerly "Moneris Solutions") is a Canadian financial technology company that specializes in payment processing. Moneris was established in December 2000, as a joint venture between the Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal. The ...

21st century

In 2006, BMO bought BCPBank, a Schedule C financial institution that was the Canadian division of Banco Comercial Português. In 2008, a Bank of Montreal trader pleaded guilty to intentionally mismarking his trading book in order to increase his bonus from the bank. In 2009, BMO purchased

AIG American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is an American multinational finance and insurance corporation with operations in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. As of 2023, AIG employed 25,200 people. The company operates through three core ...

's Canadian life insurance business, AIG Life Insurance Company of Canada (400,000 customers and 300 employees), for approximately CA$330 million, making BMO the second-biggest life insurer among Canadian banks. The new component was renamed BMO Life Assurance Company. In the same year, the Bank of Montreal acquired the

Diners Club International Diners Club International Ltd. (DCI), founded as Diners Club, is a charge card company owned by Capital One. Formed in 1950 by Frank X. McNamara, Ralph Schneider (1909–1964), Matty Simmons, and Alfred S. Bloomingdale, it was the first independe ...

's North American franchise from

Citibank Citibank, N.A. ("N. A." stands for "National bank (United States), National Association"; stylized as citibank) is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of Citigroup, a financial services multinational corporation, multinational corporation. Ci ...

. The transaction gave BMO exclusive rights to issue Diners cards in the US and Canada. In October 2010, the bank became the first Canadian bank to incorporate in China, with branches in China operating as BMO ChinaCo. In December 2010, BMO announced the purchase of

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, and was later amalgamated with its Harris Bank operations. When the transaction completed, M&I Bank, along with current Harris Bank branches were rebranded BMO Harris Bank. In 2022, BMO booked US$834 million after being found liable for Marshall & Ilsley Bank Ponzi scheme with damages of US$550 million. In 2009, businessman Thomas Petters was found guilty of running the scheme using an account at Marshall & Ilsley between 2002 and 2008. When BMO bought Marshall & Ilsley and assumed the liability. In 2014, the bank acquired London-based Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust, later re-branding it as BMO Commercial Property Trust in 2019. In September 2015, BMO agreed to acquire General Electric Co. subsidiary GE Capital's transportation-finance unit. The business acquired has US$8.7 billion (CA$11.5 billion) of assets, 600 employees and 15 offices in the US and Canada. BMO and Simplii Financial (a subsidiary of the

) were the targets of hackers in May 2018, who claimed to have compromised the systems of both banks and stolen information on a combined 90,000 customers (50,000 from BMO). An email sent from a Russian address and attributed to the hackers demanded a ransom of 1 million from each company paid via Ripple by 11:59 pm on 28 May 2018 or the information would be released on "fraud forum and fraud community". In 2018, BMO went into the

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

sector with a $175 million deal for a stake in a producer. It was the first investment in the sector by a "Big Five Canadian bank". In January 2018, the bank was accused in a lawsuit along with five other Canadian banks for "conspiring to rig a Canadian rate benchmark to improve profits from derivatives trading". After resigning from the Canadian Liberal cabinet, Scott Brison was hired by the bank as its vice-chair of investment and corporate banking in February 2019. In February 2019, it became reported that its US retail profits had surged. The bank moved its

headquarters in April 2019, to a former

Conde Nast Conde is the Ibero-Romance form of "count" (Latin ''comitatus''). It may refer to: * Counts in Iberia *List of countships in Portugal Places United States * Conde, South Dakota, a city France * Condé-sur-l'Escaut (or simply 'Condé'), a com ...

building. That month, the bank's Irish subsidiary was fined several million for a license breach. To settle charges by the SEC that it hid conflicts of interest from clients in 2016, in September 2019 the Bank of Montreal's two units in Chicago paid $38 million. In December 2019, the bank cut 2,300 jobs, after a drop in quarterly earnings, effecting around five percent of the workforce. The company had plans to "double indigenous lending" in September 2019. There was controversy and protests in January 2020 after a12-year-old

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

girl and her grandfather were handcuffed by police at a

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

branch of the bank following an identification discrepancy. The Vancouver mayor criticized the bank for what he termed giving false information to the police. The police were afterwards investigated. A human rights claim was later filed in response to the incident. A settlement was eventually reached, which included an undisclosed monetary payment to the victims, an apology ceremony in Bella Bella, territorial acknowledgement plaques installed at certain branches and BMO updating internal policies and procedures for how status cards are handled. After the incident, BMO launched an Indigenous Advisory Council with Indigenous members from a number of provinces. The CEO of the bank argued against

fossil fuel divestment Fossil fuel divestment or fossil fuel divestment and investment in climate solutions is an attempt to reduce climate change by exerting social, political, and economic pressure for the institutional divestment of assets including stocks, bonds, ...

in March 2020, after it "acquired $3 billion of energy loans from

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...

DBKGn.DE in 2018". In 2021, BMO signed the UN Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) with the goal to reach global net-zero climate targets as well as net-zero financed emissions in their lending by 2050. In July 2022, BMO acquired Calgary-based Radicle Group Inc., an adviser to companies on sustainability and measuring carbon emissions. In December 2021, BMO agreed to acquire San Francisco-based

from

, with the intent of merging it with BMO Harris Bank, which would at least double BMO's total presence in the United States. BMO's 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 BMO brand by September 2023. In January 2024, BMO became the first new member of the club of United Kingdom Bond dealers in 10 years, becoming one of the primary-dealer banks that buy bonds directly from the government. By buying bonds directly from the government, banks help create a liquid market for government debt, but they also have to hold additional capital as insurance against possible losses. In 2013, the number of primary bond dealers reached 21, by 2024 it had dropped to 16.

Corporate information

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 Retail banking, also known as consumer banking or personal banking, is the provision of services by a bank to the general public, rather than to companies, corporations or other banks, which are often described as wholesale banking (corporate ...

), including ** BMO Bank of Montreal (commercial and retail banking in Canada), including BMO's MasterCard credit cards; ''BMO Life'', a life insurance company; and the former virtual bank division ** BMO Bank, N.A. (commercial and retail banking in the United States, headquartered in Chicago) * Investment Banking Group (known as BMO Capital Markets) * Private Client Group (wealth management), including ** (full service investing in Canada): formed following 1987 acquisition of Nesbitt Thomson, then one of Canada's oldest investment houses, and the 1994 acquisition of Burns Fry, a dealer of Canadian equities and debt securities. Nesbitt Thomson and Burns Fry then merged to become BMO Nesbitt Burns. ** BMO InvestorLine (self-service investing in Canada) ** BMO Harris Investor Services (advisory services in the United States) ** BMO Private Banking (private banking in Canada and the United States) including Harris myCFO and Cedar Street Advisors (both affiliates of BMO Harris Bank) In 2014–2015 BMO rebranded BMO Harris Private Bank as BMO Private Bank. In October 2008, Mediacorp Canada Inc. named BMO Financial Group one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers.

Notable buildings

Historic branches

A number of buildings in which Bank of Montreal presently operates branches have been designated by municipal, provincial, and/or federal levels of government as being of historic importance. These include: BMO Hamilton

* The Bank of Montreal, 4896 Delta Street,

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

(1919) * The Bank of Montreal, 511 Columbia Street,

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the cap ...

, British Columbia (1947–1948) * The Bank of Montreal, 322 Curling Street,

Corner Brook Corner Brook ( 2021 population: 19,316 CA 29,762) is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Corner Brook is the fifth largest settlement in Newfoundland and Labrado ...

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

(1915) * The Bank of Montreal, 426 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg,

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

(1927) * The "Old Bank of Montreal", 100 Victoria Street East, Amherst,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

(1906) * The Bank of Montreal, 1 Main Street West,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, Ontario (1928) * The Bank of Montreal, 144 Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario built by Ernest Barott of Barott and Blackader, architects, of Montreal * The Bank of Montreal, 3 King Street, Waterloo, Ontario, formerly known as the Molson's Bank, by architect Andrew Taylor (1914) A number of late-19th century Bank of Montreal branches were also built by British architect, Andrew Taylor. Taylor designed a three-storey structure for the Bank of Montreal on

Saint Jacques Street Saint Jacques Street (, ), or St. James Street, is a major street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running from Old Montreal westward to Lachine. In 1818 the Bank of Montreal built its headquarters on St James, which began the development of the ...

in Montreal. The building was modelled after a Georgian townhouse with a small portico of Corinthian columns supporting a classical pediment and remains the bank's legal headquarters. * The Bank of Montreal in West End, Ste. Catherine Street West at Mansfield Street, Montreal (1889) * The Bank of Montreal in Notre Dame Street West Seigneurs Street, Montreal (1894) * The Bank of Montreal in Point St. Charles Branch, Wellington Street at Magdalen Street, Montreal (1901) * The Bank of Montreal, St. Catherine Street West at Papineau Street, Montreal (1904) * The Bank of Montreal, Perth, Ontario (1884) * The Bank of Montreal,

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Stephen Avenue at Scarth Street ow 1 Street SW(1888) * Manager's residence for the Bank of Montreal, Grande Allée, Quebec City, Quebec (1904) * The Bank of Montreal in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Nova Scotia; designated by The Cape Breton Regional Municipality as a registered heritage property in 2008, (1901) Buildings that formerly housed a branch of the bank have also seen later notable use. A branch in Montreal has been designated as a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...

in 1990. The building was completed in 1894, and was designated as a historic site as a good example of Queen Anne Revival architecture. Another former Bank of Montreal branch on Front and

Yonge Street Yonge Street ( ') is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, ...

s in Toronto has housed the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

since 1993. The 1885 Beaux-Arts styled building designed by the Toronto firm of Darling & Curry.

Headquarters

Completed in 1847, the

Bank of Montreal Head Office The Bank of Montreal's Head Office () is located on 119, rue Saint Jacques (119, Saint Jacques Street) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, across the Place d'Armes from the Notre-Dame Basilica (Montreal), Notre-Dame Basilica in the Old Montreal neighbo ...

is formally located in Montreal, on

. However in 1960, the operational headquarters was moved to a 17-storey tower adjacent the historic head office building. In 1977, the bank's operational headquarters or "executive office", was moved to

in Toronto, with the chairman, president, and some senior executives working from First Canadian Place. The structure's was named after a historic slogan of the bank, the ''First Canadian Bank'', a slogan introduced in 1969.

Sponsorships

The bank is a founder and major sponsor of the Siminovitch Prize in Theatre, an annual award of $100,000 granted to a Canadian director, playwright, or designer. Marco Di Vaio Montreal Impact

The bank has been a sponsor of the

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

since 2007 and of its home stadium named ''

BMO Field BMO Field is an outdoor stadium located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Constructed on the former Exhibition Stadium site and first opened in 2007, it is the home field of Toronto FC of Major League Soccer (MLS) and Toronto Ar ...

'' at Exhibition Place. In 2010, BMO extended its agreement with the Toronto FC through the 2016 season. The bank is also a sponsor of the

CF Montréal Club de Foot Montréal () is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Montreal. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Founded in 1992 as the Mo ...

, announcing a five-year agreement to become lead sponsor and jersey sponsor on 14 June 2011. In addition, the bank is a sponsor of

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 ...

, with their stadium being named

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 ...

since 2023. From at least 2007 through 2011, BMO was the sponsor for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

and the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

. In July 2008, BMO announced a one-year sponsorship of

IndyCar IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with the Indianapolis ...

team

Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing Newman/Haas Racing was an auto racing team that competed in CART, Champ Car, and the IndyCar Series from 1983 to 2011. The team operations were based in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Newman/Haas Racing was formed as a partnership between actor, automo ...

to appear on the No. 06 car of

Graham Rahal Graham Robert Rahal ( ; born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently races in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winner of ...

in the first-ever IRL-sanctioned Canadian IndyCar race at

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

. Since 1997, Bank of Montreal has been a major sponsor of Skate Canada, and is the title sponsor of the BMO Financial Group

Canadian Championships Canadian Championships refers to a number of national-level competition in Canada. It may refer to: * Canadian Championship, the national championship tournament for professional soccer * Canadian Figure Skating Championships * Canadian Professiona ...

, 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. In 2005, BMO Bank of Montreal became the title sponsor for the annual May

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

race staged by the Vancouver International Marathon Society. The current name is "BMO Bank of Montreal Vancouver Marathon". In 2025, Bank of Montreal became a major sponsor of the

Northern Super League The Northern Super League (NSL; ) is a Canada soccer league system#Women, top-division professional women's association football, women's soccer league in Canada. The league is owned and operated by Project 8 Sports, Inc., and includes six team ...

, the top women's soccer league in Canada.

Membership

BMO is a member of the

Canadian Bankers Association The Canadian Bankers Association (CBA; ) is a trade association and lobby group representing Canadian banks. Its over 60 members include Canada's Big Five banks, smaller domestic banks, and Canadian subsidiaries of foreign banks. Founded in Mon ...

and registered member with the

Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation The Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC; ) is a Canadian federal Crown Corporation created by Parliament in 1967 to provide deposit insurance to depositors in Canadian commercial banks and savings institutions. CDIC insures Canadians' de ...

, a federal agency insuring deposits at all of Canada's chartered banks. It is also a member of: *

Air Miles Air Miles is a group of loyalty programs operated by different companies in each region where the brand operates - the programs are available in Canada, the Netherlands, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Points are earned on purchases ...

ATM Industry Association The ATM Industry Association (ATMIA), originally the ATM Owners Association, was established in 1997 in the United States as a global nonprofit trade association to service an industry that built around the global growth of the Automated telle ...

Interac Interac is a Canadian interbank network that links financial institutions and other enterprises for the purpose of exchanging electronic financial transactions. Interac serves as the Canadian debit card system and the predominant funds transf ...

* Cirrus for MasterCard card users * Diners Club North America * MasterCard International BMO Bank (BMO's US operations) is a member of the

Federal Reserve System The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...

and a registered member of the

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a State-owned enterprises of the United States, United States government corporation supplying deposit insurance to depositors in American commercial banks and savings banks. The FDIC was cr ...

. It is also a member of: * Cirrus for MasterCard card users * Diners Club North America * Interlink for Visa card users *

NYCE The New York Currency Exchange (NYCE) is an interbank network connecting the Automatic teller machine, ATMs of various financial institutions in the United States and Canada. NYCE also serves as an EFTPOS network for NYCE-linked ATM cards. NYCE ...

for MasterCard card users * MasterCard International * Plus for Visa card users * Visa

Leadership

President

# John Gray, 1817 – 1820 # Samuel Gerrard, 1820 – 1826 #

, 1826 #

John Molson John Molson (28 December 1763 – 11 January 1836) was an English people, English-born brewer and entrepreneur in colonial Province of Quebec (1763–91), Quebec, which during his lifetime became Lower Canada. In addition to founding Molson Brewe ...

, 1826 – 1834 #

Peter McGill Peter McGill (August 1789 – September 28, 1860) was a Scots-Quebecer businessman who served as the second mayor of Montreal from 1840 to 1842. Biography He was born Peter McCutcheon in the village of Creebridge, Wigtownshire (now Dum ...

, 1834 – 1860 # Thomas Brown Anderson, 1860 – 1869 # Edwin Henry King, 1869 – 1873 # David Torrance, 1873 – 1876 # The Lord Mount Stephen, 1876 – 1881 # Charles Francis Smithers, 1881 – 1887 # The Lord Strathcona, 1887 – 1905 # Sir George Alexander Drummond, 1905 – 1910 # Richard Bladworth Angus, 1910 – 1913 # Sir Henry Vincent Meredith, 1913 – 1927 # Sir Charles Blair Gordon, 1927 – 1939 # Huntly Redpath Drummond, 1939 – 1942 # George Wilbur Spinney, 1942 – 1948 # Bertie Charles Gardner, 1948 – 1952 # Gordon Reginald Ball, 1952 – 1959 # George Arnold Reeve Hart, 1959 – 30 April 1967 # Robert David Mulholland, 1 May 1967 – December 1968 # John Leonard Walker, December 1968 – 3 February 1973 # Frederick Harold McNeil, February 1973 – 31 December 1974 # William David Mulholland, 1 January 1975 – 30 June 1981 # William Elwood Bradford, 1 July 1981 – 31 October 1983 # Grant Louis Reuber, 1 November 1983 – 30 October 1987 # Matthew William Barrett, 1 November 1987 – 16 January 1990 # Francis Anthony Comper, 16 January 1990 – 31 October 1999
''Separate divisional presidents'', 1 November 1999 – 30 April 2004 # Francis Anthony Comper, 1 May 2004 – 28 February 2007 # William Arthur Downe, 1 March 2007 – 31 October 2013
''Office abolished 1 November 2013''

Chairman of the Board

# Sir Henry Vincent Meredith, 1927 – 1929 # Huntly Redpath Drummond, 1942 – 1946 # Bertie Charles Gardner, 1952 – 1954 # Arthur Christian Jensen, 1959 – 7 December 1964 # George Arnold Reeve Hart, 7 December 1964 – December 1975 # Frederick Harold McNeil, December 1975 – 30 June 1981 # William David Mulholland, 1 July 1981 – 15 January 1990 # Matthew William Barrett, 15 January 1990 – 30 October 1999 # Francis Anthony Comper, 1 November 1999 – 30 April 2004 # David Alexander Galloway, 1 May 2004 – 20 March 2012 # John Robert Stobo Prichard, 20 March 2012 – 31 May 2020 # George Alexander Cope, 31 May 2020 –

Chief Executive Officer

# George Arnold Reeve Hart, 1959 – December 1971 # John Leonard Walker, December 1971 – December 1972 # George Arnold Reeve Hart, December 1972 – 31 December 1974 # Frederick Harold McNeil, 1 January 1975 – January 1979 # William David Mulholland, January 1979 – 30 June 1989 # Matthew William Barrett, 1 July 1989 – 23 February 1999 # Francis Anthony Comper, 23 February 1999 – 28 February 2007 # William Arthur Downe, 1 March 2007 – 31 October 2017 # William Darryl White, 1 November 2017 – On 13th December 2024, Bank of Montreal stated that it would be hiring Tony Sciarrino from JPMorgan Chase, replacing Ray Whitacre who will retire 1st January 2025. Sciarrino will be appointed to lead the banks U.S. commercial banking business.

References

External links

* * {{Portal bar, Banks, Canada, Companies 1817 establishments in Lower Canada Banks established in 1817 Banks of Canada Canadian brands Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Exchange-traded funds Mortgage lenders of Canada Multinational companies headquartered in Canada S&P/TSX 60 Canadian companies established in 1817