BMO Bank

This article is about the United States subsidiary. For the Canadian parent company, see Bank of Montreal.

BMO Bank, N.A.
BMO
Formerly
  • N.W. Harris & Co. (1882–1907)
  • M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank (1847–2012)
  • Harris Trust and Savings Bank (1907–1972)
  • Harris Bank, N.A. (1972–2005; Harris Bank name then retired in 2005)
  • BMO Harris Bank, N.A. (2011–2023)
Company typeSubsidiary
Industry
PredecessorsSuburban Bancorp
Marshall & Ilsley
Bank of the West
Founded1882; 142 years ago (1882)
FounderNorman Wait Harris
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois
,
U.S.
Key people
  • Darryl White (CEO—BMO Financial Group)
  • Darrel Hackett (US CEO)
ProductsConsumer banking, corporate banking, private banking, financial analysis, insurance, investment banking, mortgage loans, private equity, wealth management, credit cards
Owner
  • Harris Bankcorp, Inc. (1972–1984)
  • Bank of Montreal (through BMO Financial Group; 1984–present)
Number of employees
55,767 (FTE, 2023)[1]
Parent
  • Bankmont Financial Corporation (1984–2004)
  • Harris Financial Corporation (2004–2011)
  • BMO Financial Corporation (2011–present)
Websitewww.bmo.com

BMO Bank, N.A. (colloquially BMO; US: /biːmoʊ/) is an American national bank that is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It is the U.S. subsidiary of the Toronto-based multinational investment bank and financial services company Bank of Montreal, which owns it through the holding company BMO Financial Corporation (formerly Bankmont Financial Corporation, then Harris Financial Corporation). As of March 2024, it was the 15th largest bank in the United States by total assets.

The bank was founded in Chicago in 1882 as N.W. Harris & Co. by Norman Wait Harris 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, the U.S. bank announced that it would retire the "BMO Harris Bank" brand in favor of the global "BMO" brand of its Bank of Montreal's parent financial services corporation.[2]

  1. ^ "Investor Relations. BMO Financial Group" (PDF). BMO. December 1, 2023. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference BMO rebrand was invoked but never defined (see the help page).