BMO Financial Group has been building relationships in China, almost as long as the bank has been in business. Merely three months after its opening in 1817, the bank undertook its first foreign exchange transaction in support of trade with China in 1818.
Our presence in Greater China is significant. In September 2010, we officially opened our Mainland China incorporated subsidiary bank, Bank of Montreal (China) Co. Ltd. We are the first and only Canadian bank, and amongst a select number of North American banks to operate an incorporated subsidiary in Mainland China that can offer a broad range of products and services to clients. Today, Bank of Montreal (China) Co. Ltd. has branches in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
BMO in China Timeline:
- 1818, BMO undertakes the first foreign exchange transaction in support of trade with China
- 1983, BMO opens its first representative office in the People’s Republic of China
- 1995, BMO Guangzhou Representative Office upgrades to BMO Guangzhou Branch
- 1997, BMO Beijing Representative Office upgrades to BMO Beijing Branch
- 2003, BMO obtains an equity interest in Fullgoal Fund Management Co., one of China’s leading funds management companies
- 2004, BMO becomes the first Canadian bank to be granted a license by the China Banking
- 2005, BMO is the only Canadian bank selected as a market maker for foreign exchange trading in China through the interbank China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS)
- 2006, BMO's investment banking arm is one of six financial institutions, and the only Canadian financial institutions, to act as co-lead Manager of Bank of China's IPO in Hong Kong.
- 2008, BMO Shanghai Representative Office upgrades to BMO Shanghai Branch
- 2010, BMO receives approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission to become the first and only Canadian bank to incorporate a wholly-owned subsidiary bank in Mainland China – Bank of Montreal (China) Co. Ltd.
- 2012, BMO acquires 19.99% equity interest, in COFCO Trust Co. Ltd., a provider of trust products & a subsidiary of COFCO Group, one of China’s largest state-owned enterprises
- 2015, BMO initiates first-ever currency trade through the new Renminbi Trading Hub for the Americas. The hub – a first for North and South America – allows financial institutions to purchase the Chinese RMB currency through Canada on the open market, on behalf of their clients
- 2018, BMO launches the commercial draft financing product – RMB Electronic Commercial Draft Discounting which provides E-platform to process the commercial draft and supports client cash flow needs in Mainland China
- 2019, BMO launches the Receivables Purchase product to further expand BMO’s Supply Chain Finance offerings in Mainland China
