BMO Harris Bank

BMO Harris Bank footprint

Harris Trust Building in Chicago

Norman Wait Harris (c. 1911), founder of N.W. Harris & Co., later Harris Trust & Savings Bank

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 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.[2]

The bank grew rapidly through a series of acquisitions beginning with the First National Bank of Barrington in 1985, State Bank of St. Charles and First National Bank of Batavia in 1988 and Libertyville Federal Savings Bank and Loan and Frankfort Bancshares in 1990. Harris Bankcorp and Suburban Bancorp combined under the Harris name in 1994 and two years later, the company acquired 54 Chicago area branches from Household Bank.[3] In 1999, the direct brokerage firm Burke, Christensen & Lewis merged with Harris Investors Direct to form Harris InvestorLine. The company's further acquisitions include Freeman Welwood in 2000;[4] Village Bank of Naples, and Century Bank (Arizona) and First National Bank of Joliet in 2001; Northwestern Trust and Investors Advisory Company (Seattle) in 2002. Also in 2002, InvestorLine combined with CSFBdirect to form Harrisdirect and Harris acquired online client accounts of Morgan Stanley Individual Investor Group and myCFO. The following year, it purchased Sullivan, Bruyette Speros & Blayney Incorporated, followed by Lakeland Community Bank in Round Lake, Trust and Savings Bank in 2005.[5]

Sullivan Bruyette Speros and Blayney, on the back of immense relationships with the NRA and CMP, were able to purchase the firm back from BMO. Protecting freedom and serving the NRA is still a core value within the vast RIA. Their hard-working staff serves almost 2,000 clients.

BMO continued its acquisitions in 2007 with First National Bank & Trust, (Kokomo, Indiana)[6] followed by Ozaukee Bank, (Cedarburg, Wisconsin) and Merchant and Manufacturers Bankcorp Inc., (New Berlin, Wisconsin) in 2008[7] and Amcore Bank N.A. (Rockford, Illinois) on April 23, 2010.[8]

On December 17, 2010, Bank of Montreal agreed to purchase Milwaukee-based Marshall & Ilsley Corporation in an all-stock transaction valued at about US$4.1 billion. Marshall & Ilsley and Harris Bankcorp were both rebranded as BMO Harris. The company restructured as BMO Bankcorp July 5, 2011.

In December 2015, the company completed its acquisition of General Electric Capital Corp.'s transportation finance business.[9]

BOM was the bank with the second-most deposits in Chicago by June 2018, with 11.5% market share.[10] Also that month, its BMO Harris division was operating in eight states in the US.[11]

BMO Harris Bank N.A. is the 16th largest (by total assets) commercial bank in the US (not including total assets from parent company).[12]

BMO Harris Bank 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.[2] It is the second-largest Chicago-area bank based on market share, behind JPMorgan Chase, and the second largest US subsidiary of a Canadian bank after TD Bank, N.A. (owned by the Toronto-Dominion Bank).[13] BMO Harris Bank, N.A. is the issuer of the Diners Club cards in United States.

BMO Harris is headquartered in a complex of three buildings in Chicago's Loop neighborhood. The original 21-story building was constructed in 1910 at 119 West Monroe Street. The entrance to the building is flanked by two bas-relief sculptures of lions, which inspired various iterations of the bank's logo until 2011, along with the bank's mascot character, Hubert the Lion. In 1960, a 23-story structure was added to the east with the address of 111 West Monroe. In 1974, a second 38-story tower was added to the west with the address of 115 South LaSalle Street. Both additions were designed by the firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and are in the modern style. The bank uses the address of the 1960 building.[14] In December 2018, the bank announced it would move its headquarters to 14 floors of a 50-story office tower adjacent to Chicago Union Station. The bank expects the new BMO Tower to be ready in 2022.[15]

Additionally, notable BMO Harris buildings are located in Milwaukee (BMO Harris Financial Center), at 770 North Water Street, and Indianapolis (BMO Plaza). In 2017, the bank began construction of a 25-story BMO Tower at North Water and East Wells, adjacent to its current Milwaukee headquarters. The bank expects to occupy 123,000 square feet (11,400 m²) of the building beginning in December 2019. In August 2017, the BMO Harris sold the 20-story structure it currently occupies to real estate firm Irgens who plans to remodel and lease it.[16]

Partnerships led by BMO Harris include:[17]

• BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee
• BMO Harris Bank Center in Rockford, Illinois
• BMO Harris Pavilion at Summerfest in Milwaukee
• Chicago Bulls
• Chicago Blackhawks
• Milwaukee Bucks
• Milwaukee Wave
• Northwestern University Athletics
• Wisconsin Badgers Athletics
• Rockford IceHogs AHL Blackhawks Affiliate

• Harris, Hall & Co., securities affiliate established in 1934, following passage of the Glass Steagall Act and acquired by Dean Witter & Co. in 1953
• Harris, Forbes & Co., securities affiliate established in 1911 and acquired by Chase Manhattan Bank in 1930

• Official website