Bank of Montreal 2013 Annual Report Download - page 39

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
U.S. Personal and Commercial Banking
MD&A
The promise we make to our more than two million customers is to bring clarity
to their financial decisions. Our retail and small and mid-sized business banking
customers are served through our 621 branches, call centre, online and mobile
banking platforms and more than 1,300 ABMs across eight states. We deliver
financial expertise to our commercial banking customers, offering in-depth,
specific industry knowledge and strategic capital markets solutions.
Mark Furlong
Group Head
U.S. Personal and Commercial Banking
and CEO, BMO Harris Bank N.A. Chicago
Lines of Business
Personal Banking offers a broad range of products and services to
individuals, as well as small and mid-sized business customers, including
deposits, mortgages, consumer credit, business lending, credit cards and
other banking services.
Strengths and Value Drivers
‰ Rich heritage of more than 160 years in the U.S. Midwest, with a deep
commitment to the community and to helping our customers succeed.
‰ Strong, experienced leadership team that knows how to compete and
excel in our markets.
‰ Enviable platform for profitable growth provided by our attractive
branch footprint and top-tier deposit market share in key U.S.
Midwest markets.
‰ Large-scale, relationship-based national commercial banking business
based in the U.S. Midwest, with in-depth industry knowledge in
select sectors.
Strategy and Key Priorities
We aim to grow our business and be a leader in our markets by
delivering a customer experience differentiated through guidance on a
wide range of financial topics, and by leveraging our brand reputation,
local presence and high-performance teams.
Deliver a great customer experience to grow a loyal and profitable
customer base
2013 Achievements
‰ Continued to build on our strong commercial lending market share,
ranking second among our peer U.S. commercial banks in our core
Midwest market and first in Wisconsin, with an increase in core
commercial and industrial loans of $3.5 billion or 19% from a
year ago.
‰ Implemented a new customer relationship management system
that enables our employees to deliver a great experience to our
customers by providing them with all customer information in
one channel.
‰ Received the Community Service Leadership Award from The Financial
Services Roundtable in recognition of our dedication and service to
the communities in which we operate.
‰ Ranked number 1 among 30 major U.S. banks in long-term trust in
the annual American Banker/Reputation Institute Survey of Bank
Reputations, demonstrating the high level of confidence customers
have in us.
Commercial Banking provides larger businesses with a broad range
of banking products and services, including lending, deposits, treasury
management and risk management.
2014 Focus
‰ Maintain strong customer loyalty while growing our customer base in
high-opportunity segments, including mass affluent, mid-market and
earlier life stage consumers.
Continue to improve our product and channel capabilities to better
meet our customers’ needs
2013 Achievements
‰ Enhanced our online banking platform with upgrades that improve our
loan processing capabilities and cross-border functionalities. In addi-
tion, customers can now view and manage all their bank, credit card
and investment accounts in one place using BMO Harris Total LookSM.
‰ Launched BMO Harris Bank iPad®, iPhone® and AndroidTM mobile apps
to increase convenience for our customers. To date, customer
response has been strong, with nearly 40% of customers accessing
our mobile banking platform, and the iPad® application has a four-star
user rating.
‰ Continued to work in partnership with Wealth Management to imple-
ment Premier Services, which offers a unique planning-focused client
experience, with 98 teams of bankers and wealth management
advisors in place at year end. This realignment drives increases in
share of wallet, and ensures our clients are served through the most
cost-effective channel.
2014 Focus
‰ Continue to enhance our technology and processes with additional
digital channels and improved mortgage and business lending and
treasury processes.
Improve financial performance by growing revenue and effectively
managing costs
2013 Achievements
‰ Revenue from strong core commercial and industrial loan growth
and increased deposit balances improved, offsetting in part the
negative impact of the low interest rate environment which lowered
overall revenue.
‰ Expenses and adjusted expenses declined by 5% and 4%, respectively
(in U.S. dollars), primarily due to synergy-related savings and cost
reductions resulting from our productivity initiatives, partially offset by
the effects of selective investments in the business and higher
regulatory-related costs.
50 BMO Financial Group 196th Annual Report 2013