Bank of Montreal 1997 Annual Report Download - page 6

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Bank of Montreal 180th Annual Report 19974
Guided by our North American
strategic vision and driven by
a company-wide commitment to
excellence, Bank of Montreal is
reaping the benefits of domestic,
continental and global prosperity.
By identifying and capitalizing
on Canadian and international
opportunities, and by delivering
full value to our customers,
the Bank has enjoyed a year of
record profitability.
Responding decisively to the deepen-
ing integration of the North American
economies, Bank of Montreal with
Harris Bank, its wholly-owned subsid-
iary in the United States, Nesbitt Burns,
and in alliance with Grupo Financiero
Bancomer, its partner in Mexico
has developed a continental banking
platform that provides outstanding
personal and commercial banking,
institutional banking, corporate
banking and investment banking
in each market.
Fiscal 1997 was a watershed for
Bank of Montreal. For the first time,
more than half the Bank’s earnings
came from outside Canada. Forty-one
per cent
came from the United States
and 6% from Mexico.
Our U.S. flagship, Harris Bank,
has played a leading role in the Bank’s
three-pronged American expansion
consciously conservative approach in
Mexico, dealing only in stable invest-
ments with business partners who are
well-known to us. With a 16% equity
interest and a 20% voting interest in
Grupo Financiero Bancomer, Bank
of Montreal has built a solid base for
profitable long-term growth.
Bancomer has recently completed
a major reorganization of its opera-
tions and has significantly improved its
asset quality. As part of its strategic
plan, Bancomer will identify or create
scale economies around businesses
with cross-border operations that can
benefit from Bank of Montreal’s
unified continental capabilities.
In 1997, Bank of Montreal, Harris
and Bancomer pooled their resources
to create a single point of access
for cash management services
across North America. This
initiative saves time,
reduces costs and
strategy. Since 1993, Harris has tripled
the number of its retail and small
business customers to more than
800,000, and since its purchase by the
Bank in 1984, its book equity value
has increased from US$434 million
to US$1.8 billion. From its base in
Chicago and the American Midwest,
Harris has expanded into new U.S.
markets, including Florida, where its
existing trust operations are being
converted into full-service branches
to be operated under the Harris ban-
ner. Harris also significantly increased
its presence in Arizona to a total of
five locations.
Unlike some who enter emerg-
ing economies with risky, speculative
strategies, the Bank has taken a
Range