Happy Birthday BMO
On November 3, 2017 the Bank of Montreal celebrated its 200th birthday. Founded in Montreal in 1817 by a group of nine of the city’s most prominent figures, its original name was Montreal Bank. In 1822, the bank converted from a private company owned by a few people into a public company owned by 144 shareholders and officially became known as the Bank of Montreal. Until 1935, when the Bank of Canada was established, the Bank of Montreal served as Canada's central bank financing important national projects like the construction of the Lachine Canal, Canada's first railway (the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad), the first telegraph service and the Canadian Pacific transcontinental railway. It was also the creator of the first Canadian currency.
In 1842, the Bank of Montreal opened its first Toronto branch, and in 1864, it became the official banker for the federal government of Canada, making it responsible for financing government operations. In 1867, the bank expanded to the Maritime provinces for the first time, opening branches in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. During this time,Canada’s foreign trade was booming and as a result the bank opened its first permanent branch in New York in 1859, Chicago in 1861, and in London, England in 1870.
Over the years, the Bank of Montreal continued to acquire numerous banks in Canada and internationally. The Bank of Montreal is on the Forbes 2000 Global list and is the fourth largest bank in Canada in terms of assets and revenue.
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