BMO Harris Bank is eyeing more acquisitions in the Twin Cities, as well as in St. Louis and Kansas City, as the lender builds on its purchase last year of Milwaukee-based M&I Bank.
Speaking Tuesday at an investor conference in Chicago, BMO Harris President and CEO Mark Furlong said the bank seeks "tuck-in acquisitions" in those three markets as it works to hit a profit goal of $1 billion in three years.
BMO Harris, based in Chicago, has $95 billion in assets and is a subsidiary of BMO Financial Group in Toronto. Both are owned by the Bank of Montreal, one of Canada's largest banks.
BMO entered the Minnesota market last year with its purchase of Milwaukee-based Marshall & Ilsley Corp., whose M&I Bank had a significant presence in the state.
BMO now ranks No. 4 by deposits in the Twin Cities, although it has just 2.5 percent deposit market share. The Twin Cities market is dominated by Wells Fargo & Co. and U.S. Bancorp, which together have nearly 70 percent of the deposit market share.
JENNIFER BJORHUS
