The Molson Bank (sometimes labeled Molsons Bank) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becau ...

founded in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

, by brothers

William William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conq ...

(1793–1875) and John Molson, Jr. (1787–1860), the sons of brewery magnate

John Molson John Molson (December 28, 1763 – January 11, 1836) was an English-born brewer and entrepreneur in colonial Quebec, which during his lifetime became Lower Canada. In addition to founding Molson Brewery, he built the first steamship and the fi ...

History

In 1850, it was constituted under the ''Free Banking Act'' passed by the parliament of the

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

. To increase its powers and its revenue, the bank was incorporated in 1855. It was granted a charter on May 19, 1855 in

allowing it to operate its bank in the same way as other banks. With its

head office Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

at the corner of St. James & St. Peter streets (today known as

Saint-Jacques Saint-Jacques (the French name for Saint James (disambiguation), Saint James) may refer to: Canada * Saint-Jacques Cathedral (Montreal), built in 1822 and demolished in 1973 * Saint-Jacques (electoral district), a former federal electoral distric ...

and Saint-Pierre streets) in Montreal, it continued in operation until 1925 when it merged with the

Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (BMO; french: Banque de Montréal, link=no) is a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank; while its head office remains in ...

Branches

The bank operated 125 branches primarily in

and

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. It also had branches in western Canada and agents in the US and UK. The

at 3 King Street South,

Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto. Due to the close proximity of the c ...

, is a former branch of the Molson Bank that was built in 1914 and is on the Registry of Historical Places of Canada.

Presidents

William Molson was the first President (1855-1875) and brother John Molson Jr. as vice-president (1855-1860). Other Molsons to work at the bank included: * John Thomas Molson was President in 1875 *

John Henry Robinson Molson John Henry Robinson Molson (June 5, 1826 – May 28, 1897) was a Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was an owner of Molson Brewery and president of Molson Bank. Born June 5, 1826 to Thomas Molson (1791–1863) and Martha Molson (1795–1 ...

, President 1889-1897 * Frederick William Molson(1860-1929) was President of the bank from 1921 to 1924http://www.bmo.com/bmo/files/images/4/1/BMOHistoryEng.pdf

Gallery

File:Banque Molson.jpg, Molson Bank File:Molsons Bank Montreal.jpg, Molson Bank in Montreal File:BMO Molsons Bank Waterloo.JPG, Waterloo Molsons Bank Building (BMO Branch) with Marsland Centre (BMO Data Centre) behind. Image:The Bank of Montreal, Waterloo (formerly Molsons Bank Building).jpg, This BMO branch in

retains the Molsons Bank name on the

plinth A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...

. File:Molson Bank Saint-Rémi Notre-Dame.jpg, Molson Bank branch, constructed in 1905, at the corner of Saint-Rémi and Notre-Dame in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

References

*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. Defunct banks of Canada Economy of Quebec Companies based in Montreal Molson family Banks established in 1850 Banks disestablished in 1925 Bank of Montreal 1850 establishments in Quebec 1925 disestablishments in Quebec Canadian companies established in 1850 {{Bank-stub

History

Branches

Presidents

Gallery

See also

References