Bank of Montreal 1999 Annual Report Download - page 12

Harris Regional Banking
Personal and Commercial Client Group
customers. Plans
call for a U.S. pilot early in 2000
of a wireless banking
service that allows cus-
tomers to access banking
and brokerage accounts
from mobile phones or palm
computing devices.
In 1999 Harris, with our partner from Mexico,
Bancomer, embarked on a major customer service
initiative to provide specialized financial services
to the Hispanic community —the fastest-growing
ethnic group in the United States. Harris has
11 fully bilingual branches and plans to open six
more in 2000. Our goal is to provide convenience,
ease of access and the full range of innovative
banking services to the community of 1.2 million
Hispanics living in the Chicagoland area.
Harris’ success in developing a growing retail
banking business in Chicagoland offers a
valuable template for expanding our current oper-
ations in Arizona, Florida and other sunbelt
markets. The opportunity for growth is substantial.
Harris Mid-Market Corporate Banking enjoyed
substantial growth in new customers as it suc-
cessfully pursued its relationship advisory strategy,
coupled with distribution of an increasingly
broad array of sophisticated financial services.
Going forward, our customers will increasingly
benefit from closer linkages with Nesbitt Burns
investment banking capabilities, which will
provide broadened and enhanced capital markets
services that will contribute to our strong
business momentum.
Harris Bank, one of the premier banks in the U.S.
Midwest, includes two competitively advantaged
personal and commercial lines of business.
Harris Community Banking serves one out of every
five households in the Chicagoland area. Harris
is the sixth-largest Midwestern mid-market
corporate bank, distributing the full range of
Harris/Bank of Montreal/Nesbitt Burns/Bancomer
services to our middle-market customer base.
Both are businesses that create value for clients
and shareholders alike.
Since 1993, Harris Community Banking has
tripled its branch network. Today, from 139 loca-
tions, Harris serves the banking needs of nearly
one million customers. To meet rising customer
demand in 1999, Harris Bank expanded distri-
bution of corporate and private banking services
across its regional branch network. In addition,
Harris began leveraging Bank of Montreal’s proven
small business capability, offering state-of-the-
art credit evaluation and auto-decisioning systems
for small business as well
as risk-based pricing for
consumer loans.
Harris will continue
to introduce inno-
vative and convenient
ways of delivering a
broadarrayoffinancial
services to Chicagoland
10 Bank of Montreal Group of Companies 1999 Annual Report
“What I look for in a bank is how they treat me
as a client and what their commitment is
to the community. Are they going to be there?
Are they going to support the community?
Harris does both of these.”
When Harris Bank opened a new branch beside Phil Fuentes’
McDonald’s restaurant in Cicero, Ill., it marked the beginning
of a relationship that exemplifies good neighbours. Fuentes was
instantly impressed with Harris’ range of services and the
bank’s pledge to help communities in this town on the south-
west border of Chicago. That was three years ago. Today,
while they successfully work to expand Fuentes’ business, they
also find time to support the local Hispanic community and
co-sponsor educational events at local schools.