Why is bmo called bank of montreal

Now the multinational organization provides retail banking services, conducts investment activities, and helps with wealth management. Twelve million commercial and private clients trust them. BMO has become famous for its high-profile advertising campaigns and unconventional approach to branding. He often changed slogans to fit the spirit of the times.

He also had his mascot: a lion named Hubert. The BMO name on the current logo was once the ticker of a financial institution on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges. This change in policy marked a significant shift not only for the Bank of Montreal, but for all Canadian banks.

In addition, competition between banks for retail deposit customers increased. To manage this growth in retail business, the Bank of Montreal opened its first data-processing department in The competition between banks increased further when the federal government removed the maximum interest rate a bank can charge on loans in In , American-owned Citibank took over the Mercantile Bank of Canada , raising fears that foreign ownership of Canadian banks was set to increase.

In response, the federal government amended the Bank Act in , limiting foreign ownership of banks to 25 per cent of total shares. The Bank of Montreal responded to this regulatory limitation by purchasing Chicago-based bank Harris Bancorp in This purchase was a bold move for a Canadian bank, based on a strategy to build a significant presence for the Bank of Montreal in the Midwestern American marketplace.

The transaction made the Bank of Montreal the first bank in North America to have full operations in both Canada and the United States. Ten years later, in , the Bank of Montreal became the first Canadian bank to list its shares for trading on the New York Stock Exchange. To add further growth, banks began buying independent stock brokerage firms in Canada see Stock and Bond Markets.

The purchases were meant to expand their presence in investment banking in order to diversify their business outside of traditional banking. In , the Bank of Montreal participated in this strategy by buying a 75 per cent ownership stake in brokerage firm Nesbitt Thomson, Inc.

It expanded this area of business when it merged Nesbitt Thomson with the oldest remaining independent brokerage firm Burns Fry in Their logic was to create a larger, single Canadian bank that would be better able to compete internationally. However, the federal government prohibited this merger on the grounds that it believed the country would be ill-served by fewer, larger banks.

As an alternative to the merger, and to maintain a competitive growth rate, the Bank of Montreal implemented several strategies. Several other small American bank acquisitions were also concluded at the time. The Bank of Montreal also expanded its wealth management operations.

To do this, it purchased and merged several domestic and international investment management firms. In , the wealth management component of Bank of Montreal contributed approximately 17 per cent of its total reported earnings.

The Bank of Montreal has also added to other segments of its operations through acquisition. That same year, the bank acquired the Canadian credit card franchise operations of Diners Club North America. In , the bank acquired merger and acquisition advisory firm Greene Holcomb Fisher of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Laurence B. Features a list of domestic and international banks operating in Canada, timeline of the banking industry, useful consumer information, a glossary, and related resources.

CBA is the main representative body for banks in Canada and is the country's oldest industry association. Search The Canadian Encyclopedia. Remember me. Bank of Montreal , Canada's fifth-biggest bank, said Thursday it will unite all its operations under one brand called BMO Financial Group and update its logo for the first time since The branding is designed to group the bank's many businesses under one name and logo to "reflect the strength of our component parts and the diversity of expertise.

Signage on branches will be updated, and the new look will be phased in on other inventory too. Advertising and promotion material will display the new-look logos as early as the fall.

The logo, which consists of a white "M" with a bar underneath, will continue to be used but is updated within a red roundel.