Bank of London and Montreal
Encyclopedia
The Bank of London and Montreal was a joint venture
between Bank of London and South America
(Bolsa), an affiliate of Lloyds Bank
, and Bank of Montreal
. It was established in 1958 and headquartered in Nassau, Bahamas
.
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
between Bank of London and South America
Bank of London and South America
The Bank of London and South America or BOLSA was a British bank which operated in South America between 1923 and 1986.- Origins :The bank was incorporated in England on 27 September 1862 as the London, Buenos Ayres, and River Plate Bank, originally to operate in Buenos Aires...
(Bolsa), an affiliate of Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank Plc was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1765 until its merger into Lloyds TSB in 1995; it remains a registered company but is currently dormant. It expanded during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and took over a number of smaller banking companies...
, and Bank of Montreal
Bank of Montreal
The Bank of Montreal , , or BMO Financial Group, is the fourth largest bank in Canada by deposits. The Bank of Montreal was founded on June 23, 1817 by John Richardson and eight merchants in a rented house in Montreal, Quebec. On May 19, 1817 the Articles of Association were adopted, making it...
. It was established in 1958 and headquartered in Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
.
History
- 1958 Bank of London and South America, an affiliate of Lloyds Bank, and Bank of Montreal established Bank of London and Montreal as a 50-50 JV with headquarters in Nassau in the Bahamas. BOLSA contributed its branches in the West Indies and northern South America, and Bank of Montreal contributed capital.
- 1959 BOLAM established a branch in JamaicaJamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. - 1960 BOLAM established a branch in TrinidadTrinidadTrinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
. - 1964 Barclays Bank (DCO) acquired one third of the shares of BOLAM.
- 1965 Mellon National BankMellon FinancialMellon Financial Corporation, was one of the world's largest money management firms. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it was in the business of institutional and high-net-worth-individual asset management, including the Dreyfus family of mutual funds; business banking; and shareholder and...
acquired 15% of the shares in BOLAM. Lloyds’ share fell to 24%. Bolam closed its offices in VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and became a large shareholder in Banco La Guaira Internacional, which had offices in CaracasCaracasCaracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
and La GuairaLa GuairaLa Guaira is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of Vargas and the country's chief port. It was founded in 1577 as an outlet for Caracas, to the southeast. The town and the port were badly damaged during the December 1999 floods and mudslides that affected much of the region...
. - 1968 The Bank of EnglandBank of EnglandThe Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
allowed Mellon to increase its shareholding to 25%. - 1970 BOLSA fully acquired BOLAM, which had 28 branches throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. In the divorce, Bolsa took back its branches. Bank of Montreal got the Bahamian and Jamaican branches, and sold the branch and operations in Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
to the government there, which used the acquisition as the foundation for a new bank, National Commercial Bank. This is now First Citizens BankFirst Citizens BankFirst Citizens Bank is a bank based in Trinidad and Tobago. First Citizens has assets of over TT$15 billion, 22 branches in Trinidad and two on Tobago. It wholly owns First Citizens First Citizens Bank is a bank based in Trinidad and Tobago. First Citizens has assets of over TT$15 billion, 22...
. On April 17, 1970 BOM incorporated the branches it took over as Bank of Montreal (Bahamas & Caribbean), and in 1983 changed the name Bank of Montreal Bahamas Limited. - 1971 The Government of Jamaica purchased Bank of MontrealBank of MontrealThe Bank of Montreal , , or BMO Financial Group, is the fourth largest bank in Canada by deposits. The Bank of Montreal was founded on June 23, 1817 by John Richardson and eight merchants in a rented house in Montreal, Quebec. On May 19, 1817 the Articles of Association were adopted, making it...
's Jamaican operations, renaming them Bank of Surrey. Bank of Surrey closed five months later.
- In 1988 Bank of Montreal wanted to close the Bahamian operations so the Government of the Bahamas stepped in to keep them going. The Government of The Bahamas created a 51-49 joint venture with Euro Canadian Bank, which took over the new bank and renamed it Bank of The Bahamas. This is now Bank of Bahamas International.
- 1971 Lloyds combined Lloyds Bank Europe, BOLSA and BOLAM as subsidiaries of a new bank, Lloyds and Bolsa International Bank, of which Lloyds owned 55% and Mellon Bank 13%. Within two years, Lloyds bought out Mellon Bank and the other minority shareholders. It then renamed the bank Lloyds Bank International (LBI).
- 1975 LBI closed the Tokyo branch that BOLAM had established in 1971.
- 1984 Lloyds merged in LBI.