Bank of Montreal 2002 Annual Report Download - page 10

6BMO FINANCIAL GROUP ANNUAL REPORT 2002
ROBERT W. PEARCE
President and Chief Executive Officer,
Personal & Commercial Client Group
BMO Bank of Montreal has long been recognized as
the heart – and the everyday face – of BMO Financial
Group. It is therefore not surprising that our response
to recent economic storms has been to continue to invest
significantly in our Personal & Commercial business.
In 2002, we continued to develop our workforce and imple-
ment a more effective managerial structure across our
branch network. We also introduced Pathway Connect, a
state-of-the-art technology platform that enhances our
ability to identify and meet the individual needs of our cus-
tomers. We remain committed to providing our customers
with high-quality, consistent, multi-channel service.
Judging by the results, our strategy is spot on. In 2002,
we sold more products, improved our service levels, gained
market share and experienced the highest market share
growth among small business banks in Canada. Our goal is
to provide financial solutions “for the world you live in.”
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RONALD G. ROGERS
Deputy Chair, Enterprise Risk and
Portfolio Management, BMO Financial Group
Our goal is to maintain our leadership position in risk and
portfolio management, and to continue to serve our share -
holders and our customers by delivering high-quality risk
management – regardless of market conditions.
Achieving our objective means continuing to understand
credit, market and operational risks before we make
decisions. It means putting together a portfolio of assets
that has a diversity of risk. And it means maintaining a
consistent risk appetite. Sophisticated tools enhance our
ability to mitigate risk. But tools are aids, not a replacement
for management’s disciplined, enterprise-wide approach
to the application of our risk philosophy.
Superior risk management also means helping our
customers understand risk. We want our customers –
individual, small business and corporate clients – to be
comfortable that when they deal with us, we will evaluate
risk in a consistent fashion and be there to deliver financial
solutions–whetheringoodtimesorbad.
FRANK J. TECHAR
President and
Chief Executive Officer, Harris Bank
Harris Bank is the cornerstone of our U.S. presence.
With outstanding capabilities and brand awareness, we
have an advantaged position that differentiates BMO
Financial Group from our competitors and provides a
firm foundation for future growth in Chicago and beyond.
In 2002, Harris achieved strong double-digit earnings growth
despite poor economic conditions in the United States. Our
Chicagoland base is rich in opportunity for accelerated
growth, with eight million people and a gross domestic
product that is 40 percent of Canada’s. Our goal is nothing
less than to be the best and biggest bank in the region.
To achieve this, we will build distribution, maintain a sharp
focus on marketing and customer satisfaction, and leverage
our business model of a “local” community banking network
combined with world-class centralized support.
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