BMO Bank
BMO | ||
Formerly |
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Company type | Chicago, Illinois , U.S. | |
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Owner |
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Number of employees | 55,767 (FTE, 2023) Parent
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Website | www |
BMO Bank, N.A. (
The bank was founded in 1882 as N.W. Harris & Co. 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 in 2011, and Bank of the West in 2023. Coinciding with the Bank of the West merger, BMO announced that it would retire the "BMO Harris Bank" brand in favor of the global "BMO" brand of its Canadian parent company.[2]
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. Bank of Montreal (later known as BMO Financial Group) acquired Harris in 1984.[3]
The bank grew rapidly through a series of acquisitions beginning with the First National Bank of
BMO continued its acquisitions in 2007 with First National Bank & Trust, (Kokomo, Indiana)[7] followed by Ozaukee Bank, (Cedarburg, Wisconsin) and Merchant and Manufacturers Bankcorp Inc., (New Berlin, Wisconsin) in 2008,[8] and Amcore Bank N.A. (Rockford, Illinois) on April 23, 2010.[9]
On December 17, 2010, Bank of Montreal agreed to purchase
In December 2015, the company completed its acquisition of General Electric Capital Corp.'s transportation finance business.[10]
BMO was the bank with the second-most deposits in Chicago by June 2018, with 11.5% market share.[11] Also, that month, its BMO Harris division was operating in eight states in the US.[12]
In December 2021, Bank of Montreal agreed to purchase Bank of the West with the intent on merging it with BMO Harris Bank, which would at least double its U.S. presence.[13][14] 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.[15] 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.[2] 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.[16]
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Norman Wait Harris (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, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Arizona, Florida and California.
Headquarters
BMO is headquartered in a
Additionally, notable BMO buildings are located in
Naming rights and sponsorships
BMO owns corporate naming rights to the following:
- BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California
- BMO Center in Rockford, Illinois
- BMO Pavilion at Summerfest in Milwaukee – Official Sponsor of Summerfest.
BMO Bank is a sponsor of:
- Chicago Blackhawks – Official bank of the Chicago Blackhawks.
- Chicago Bulls – Official bank of the Chicago Bulls.
- Chicago White Sox – Official partner of the Chicago White Sox.
- Milwaukee Bucks – Official bank of the Milwaukee Bucks.
- Minnesota Wild – Official partner of the Minnesota Wild.
- Rockford IceHogs of the AHL, the Chicago Blackhawks affiliate – Official bank of the Rockford IceHogs.
- Wisconsin Badgers Athletics – Official partner of the UW-Madison Badgers.
See also
- Dean Witter & Co.in 1953
- Chase Manhattan Bankin 1930
References
- ^ "Investor Relations. BMO Financial Group" (PDF). BMO. December 1, 2023. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
- ^ a b "BMO Harris Bank to simplify its name, merge with Bank of the West". ada.org. 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
- ^ a b "About BMO Harris Bank". BMO Harris. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
- Bloomberg Business. 16 April 1996. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
- ^ "BofM buying Freeman Welwood for $140 million". CBC News. cbc.ca. 10 November 2000. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
- ^ "Harris Announces Intent to Purchase Villa ParkTrust and Savings Bank" (Press release). harrisbank.com. 7 July 2005. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
- ^ Dempsey, John (27 September 2006). "Harris Buys First National". Kokomo Tribune. kokomotribune.com. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
- ^ "Harris closes on Merchants, Ozaukee bank acquisitions". Milwaukee Business Journal. bizjournal.com. 4 March 2008. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
- ^ Gores, Paul (23 April 2010). "Regulators shut down Amcore Bank". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
- ^ Bauter, Allison (December 1, 2015). "BMO Harris closes on acquisition of GE Capital business". Milwaukee Business Journal. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
- ^ "Bank of Montreal and CIBC square off in Chicago". American Banker. 2018-06-28. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
- ^ "BMO Harris to emphasize digital revamp in U.S. strategy shift". American Banker. 2018-06-22. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
- ^ "Bank of Montreal expands U.S. presence with $16 bln purchase of Bank of the West from BNP Paribas". Reuters. 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
- ^ "Complementary branches may spare job cuts in BMO, Bank of the West deal". bizjournals.com. 2021-12-23. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
- ^ "Bank of the West's new owner talks new name, job cuts and plans for Bay Area real estate". bizjournals.com. 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
- ^ "With rebranding, BMO bank won't have a den for Hubert the Harris Lion". Chicago Sun-Times. February 15, 2023.
- TheStreet.com. Retrieved 2012-09-27.
- ^ "Harris Bank Complex". Hines Interests. Archived from the original on 23 November 2010. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
- ^ Gores, Paul (December 10, 2018). "BMO Harris plans 50-story headquarters tower in downtown Chicago". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
- ^ Daykin, Tom (November 16, 2017). "BMO Tower development starts in downtown Milwaukee with parking structure demolition". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved May 1, 2019.