Addressing the Toronto Alumni Association of the Ivey School of Business of the University of Western Ontario, Gilles Ouellette, president and CEO Bank of Montreal Private Client Group and deputy chair BMO Nesbitt Burns, said BMO plans more acquisitions in the United States.

BMO’s goal is to ensure that it emerges as one of the leading transnational banks. “Our strategy for getting there is simple and straightforward: growth on both sides of the border — selectively but substantially expanding our presence in the United States through the strong Harris brand, while continuing to invest in our core Canadian franchise,” said Ouellette.

“The acquisition of CSFBdirect moves us closer to our goal of expanding a full suite of wealth management products and services to clients across the U.S. But we haven’t finished on the acquisition trail in the U.S. We are still actively looking for opportunities among banks, money managers and direct investment firms.”

Ouellette outlined the bank’s acquisition criteria for U.S. firms: located in growing, affluent areas; will increase points of distribution in those areas; will enhance wealth management product and service offerings; has a similar philosophy and culture and similar client demographics, and, provides the opportunity to integrate all wealth management lines of business.

In Canada, there are fewer opportunities to expand through acquisition, he said, suggesting that it expects to grow organically. “We have been aggressively expanding our sales forces and introducing other investment professionals to take advantage of existing infrastructure and leverage existing bank client relationships.”