public traded as tsx bmo nyse bmo s & p tsx 60 component industry financial services founded 1817 montreal quebec canada headquarters bank of montreal head office montreal quebec canada first canadian place toronto ontario canada key people william a. downe ceo bmo financial group j. robert s. prichard chairman bmo financial group thomas e. flynn cfo bmo financial group dave casper ceo bmo harris bank revenue c 16.718 billion 2014 net income c 4.333 billion 2014 total assets c 588.659 billion 2014 number of employees 46 778 fte 2014 subsidiaries bmo capital markets bmo harris bank bmo nesbitt burns website canada bmo.com us bmoharris.com capital markets bmocm.com the bank of montreal french banque de montr al pronounced b k d m eal operating as bmo financial group and commonly shortened to bmo is one of the big five banks in canada . it is the fourth largest bank in canada by market capitalization and based on assets and among the ten largest banks in north america . 1 on june 23 1817 john richardson and eight merchants signed the articles of association to establish the bank of montreal in a rented house in montreal quebec . the bank officially began conducting business on november 3 1817 making it canada s oldest bank . 2 bmo s institution number or bank number is 001 . in canada the bank operates as bmo bank of montreal and has more than 900 branches serving over seven million customers . 3 the company also has substantial operations in the chicago area and elsewhere in the united states where it operates as bmo harris bank . bmo capital markets is bmo s investment and corporate banking division while the wealth management division is branded as bmo nesbitt burns . the company is ranked at number 131 on the forbes global 2000 list . 4 the company has not missed a dividend payment since 1829 paying dividends consistently through major world crises such as wwi the great depression wwii and the 2008 financial crisis this makes bank of montreal s dividend payment history one of the longest in the world . 5 contents 1 history 2 architecture 2.1 hockey hall of fame building 3 canadian mergers 4 executives 4.1 founders 4.2 presidents 4.3 chief executive officer 5 operations 5.1 corporate governance 6 headquarters 7 sponsorships 8 mergers and acquisitions history 8.1 purchase of harris bankcorp 1984 8.2 proposed merger with rbc 1998 8.3 purchase of bcpbank canada 2006 8.4 purchase of gkst inc 2008 8.5 purchase of aig life insurance company of canada 2009 8.6 purchase of diners club international franchise 2009 8.7 purchase of marshall and ilsley corporation 2010 8.8 purchase of lloyd george 2011 8.9 purchase of ge capital s transportation finance business 2015 8.10 purchase of greene holcomb fisher 2016 9 credit agency ratings 10 membership 11 see also 12 references 13 further reading 14 external links 14.1 official sites 14.2 other sites history edit file can s559 bank of montreal 10 dollars 1935 . jpg bank of montreal 10 dollars 1935 first note printed for the series . the bank of montreal was founded in 1817 as the first bank in canada . 6 the bank of montreal established branches in newfoundland on january 31 1895 following the collapse of the newfoundland commercial bank and union bank of newfoundland on december 10 1894 . 7 newspaper ad for the bank promoting services to farmers . from 1922 in 1925 bank of montreal merged with the molson bank . bmo s operational head office moved to first canadian place on bay street in toronto in 1977 while its legal headquarters remains at the historic montreal structure it has occupied since 1847 . bank of montreal like the other canadian chartered banks issued its own paper money from 1817 until 1942 . though the last notes were issued during that year they may have circulated for some time after . when the bank of canada act established the bank of canada in 1934 it became the sole issuer of currency in canada and other notes were withdrawn . 8 today the bank of montreal commonly goes by the nickname bmo pronounced bi mo by employees but b m o by the general public citation needed . it is a major international bank with a large number of connections across canada and around the world . architecture edit bank of montreal s main montreal branch at place d armes in montreal . a number of buildings in which bank of montreal operates branches are designated by various levels of government as being of historic importance . these include the bank of montreal 4896 delta street delta british columbia 1919 9 the bank of montreal 511 columbia street new westminster british columbia 1947 1948 10 the bank of montreal 322 curling street corner brook newfoundland and labrador 1915 11 the bank of montreal 426 portage avenue winnipeg manitoba 1927 12 the old bank of montreal 100 victoria street east also known as the heritage court amherst nova scotia 1906 13 the bank of montreal 1 main street west hamilton ontario 1928 14 the bank of montreal 144 wellington street ottawa ontario built by ernest barott of barott and blackader architects of montreal 15 16 the bank of montreal 3 king street waterloo ontario formerly known as the molson s bank by architect andrew taylor 1914 17 a number of branches were designed by andrew taylor including the bank of montreal in west end ste. catherine street west at mansfield street montreal 1889 the bank of montreal in notre dame street west seigneurs street montreal 1894 the bank of montreal in point st. charles branch wellington street at magdalen street montreal 1901 the bank of montreal st. catherine street west at papineau street montreal 1904 the bank of montreal perth ontario 1884 the bank of montreal calgary alberta stephen avenue at scarth street now 1 street sw 1888 manager s residence for the bank of montreal quebec city quebec grande allee 1904 the bank of montreal in sydney nova scotia ; designated by the cape breton regional municipality as a registered heritage property in 2008 1901 taylor also designed a three storey structure for the bank of montreal on saint jacques street in montreal in 1818 . the building was modelled after a georgian townhouse with a small portico of corinthian columns supporting a classical pediment and remains the bank s legal headquarters . 18 the bank of montreal s operational head office is located at first canadian place in toronto designed by edward durrell stone . hockey hall of fame building edit the bank of montreal front & yonge streets toronto ontario closed . the 1885 beaux arts styled building designed by the toronto firm of darling & curry has been the site of the hockey hall of fame since 1993 . 19 canadian mergers edit bmo toronto bmo edmonton during its history bank of montreal has merged with or acquired several other canadian banks commercial bank of canada 1868 of kingston ontario acquired through merchants bank exchange bank of yarmouth 1903 people s bank of halifax 1905 people s bank of new brunswick 1907 bank of british north america 1918 merchants bank of canada 1922 as well as several investment banking firms . molson bank 1925 nesbitt thomson and company stock brokers 1987 standard chartered bank of canada 2 retail branches 1990s royal bank of canada 2000 merged merchant credit debit card acquiring business with bmo bank of montreal s to form moneris solutions banco comercial portugu s bcp canadian operations 2006 executives edit founders edit the following merchants signed the articles of association for the creation of the montreal bank on june 23 1817 20 robert armour 1781 1857 businessman militia officer and office holder john c. bush 1859 austin cuvillier 1779 1849 george garden c. 1772 1828 director from 1817 to 1826 and vice president from 1818 to 1822 . horatio gates 1777 1834 merchant and banker president of bmo 1832 1834 james leslie 1786 1873 ; bank director george moffatt 1787 1865 ; bank director john richardson c. 1754 1831 thomas a. turner 1775 1834 presidents edit john gray 1817 to 1820 ; co founder and first president samuel gerrard 1820 to 1826 horatio gates 1826 ; co founder and president john molson 1826 to 1834 peter mcgill 1834 to 1860 thomas brown anderson 1860 to 1869 edwin henry king 1869 to 1873 david torrance 1873 to 1876 george stephen 1876 to 1881 c. f. smithers 1881 to 1887 donald smith 1887 to 1905 george alexander drummond 1905 to 1910 richard b. angus 1910 to 1913 sir vincent meredith 1913 to 1927 sir charles blair gordon 1927 to 1939 huntly redpath drummond 1939 to 1942 george wilbur spinney 1942 to 1948 b. c. gardner 1948 to 1952 gordon ball 1952 to 1959 g. arnold hart president from 1959 to 1967 and ceo from 1959 to 1974 fred mcneil ceo from 1975 to 1979 william d. mulholland ceo from 1979 to 1989 matthew w. barrett president from 1987 to 1990 and ceo from 1990 1999 f. anthony comper ceo from 1999 to 2007 bill downe from march 1 2007 president was the highest ranking position at the bank from its founding until the middle of the twentieth century however this was superseded by chief executive officer in 1959 beginning with g. arnold hart . several of his successors as president were ceo as well however matthew w. barrett was the first top executive not to be styled president . chief executive officer edit since the middle of the twentieth century the senior officer of bank of montreal has been styled president and chief executive officer beginning with g. arnold hart . that officer often also held the title chairman of the board until 2003 when a non executive chairman was appointed . the title of the second ranking executive has changed several times and has often been left vacant . as deputy to matthew barrett f. anthony comper was president and chief operating officer from 1990 to 1999 after which he became chairman and ceo while retaining the title of president . during most of anthony comper s tenure as ceo while there was no official number two executive the ceo of bmo capital markets the investment banking division was largely considered the second most powerful officer . bill downe ascended from ceo of bmo capital to chief operating officer of the bmo group but held the title only for one year until he succeeded comper as president and ceo in 2007 . partial list matthew w. barrett 1990 to 1999 f. anthony comper 1999 to 2007 bill downe from march 1 2007 operations edit branch at little portugal toronto with banco de montreal signage in portuguese bank of montreal branch at square one shopping centre in mississauga a typical bmo branch bmo branch in richmond hill ontario bmo is divided into three client groups which serve different markets . each of the client groups operates under multiple brand names . personal and commercial client group retail banking including bmo bank of montreal commercial and retail banking in canada including bmo s mastercard credit cards ; bmo life a life insurance company ; and the former virtual bank division mbanx bmo harris bank commercial and retail banking in the united states headquartered in chicago investment banking group known as bmo capital markets private client group wealth management including bmo nesbitt burns full service investing in canada bmo investorline self service investing in canada bmo harris investor services advisory services in the united states bmo private banking private banking in canada and the united states including harris mycfo and cedar street advisors both affiliates of bmo harris bank in 2014 2015 bmo rebranded bmo harris private bank as bmo private bank . in october 2008 mediacorp canada inc. named bmo financial group one of greater toronto s top employers . 21 corporate governance