The Bank of Montreal conducted its 194th annual meeting of shareholders, where it reflected on a record year of double-digit revenues and earnings.
The parent company of BMO Financial Group and BMO Harris Bank conducted the meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where chief executive officer Bill Downe reported that the company’s net income rose 16 percent to $3.3 billion.
“Taking good care of customers and acting in the long-term interests of our shareholders represent a single commitment for BMO,” Downe said. “Our preoccupation with customers’ success – and with understanding what they need, so they can feel confident about their finances – has established BMO as a leader.”
Citing BMO’s decision to emphasize mortgages with a maximum amortization of 25 years as an example, Downe said, “We’re encouraging existing and prospective customers to make better financial decisions – and we’re forming the foundation for new and expanded long-term relationships.”
Downe said banks are vital intermediaries in the creation of jobs and economic prosperity.
“When we committed to providing $15 billion in new loans to small and medium-sized businesses in Canada and the U.S. over the next three years, the decision was grounded in our ability to understand and anticipate customers’ needs,” he said.
Downe said that the acquisition of Milwaukee-based Marshall and Ilsley Corp., the largest acquisition in BMO’s history, doubled BMO’s U.S. presence.
“We have a strong, diversified and growing revenue opportunity and a valuable foundation for future growth,” Downe said. “Every day our bankers are in the community – having conversations and winning business. They are contributing to the economic recovery that we are beginning to see in the U.S., and helping to fuel the economic engine of the nation, the Midwest. Our record earnings provide tangible evidence that the course we’ve charted for BMO is the right one. Creating shareholder value and acting in our customers’ interests are two sides of the same coin.”
