Controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
Back to profile6 entries
2022
Marshall & Ilsley Ponzi-scheme liability
BMO recorded a charge after liability associated with Marshall & Ilsley's banking relationship to the Thomas Petters Ponzi scheme was established in litigation.
2020
Vancouver branch human-rights controversy
A First Nations child and her grandfather were handcuffed by police at a BMO branch after an identification dispute. A later settlement included an apology ceremony, branch acknowledgements and changes to internal procedures.
2020
BMO responds to Vancouver branch arrest incident
Company response
After an Indigenous man and his 12-year-old granddaughter were handcuffed at a BMO Vancouver branch, BMO apologized, announced an Indigenous advisory council, and said it was introducing training for senior leadership and accelerating employee training. The Heiltsuk Nation accused BMO of failing to acknowledge racial profiling.
Company response
Apology — BMO Financial Group
I — and our entire organization — unreservedly apologize for what happened.
Remediation — BMO Financial Group
He said the bank is also introducing new training in partnership with Indigenous leaders for its senior leadership across the country and is accelerating training for all its employees in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call for more education on the history of Indigenous Peoples.
Source excerpt
I — and our entire organization — unreservedly apologize for what happened.
The First Nation criticized the bank’s response on Thursday and accused BMO of failing to acknowledge that racial profiling had taken place at one of its branches.
VANCOUVER – BMO Financial Group is establishing an advisory council of Indigenous leaders from across the country after an Indigenous man and his 12-year-old granddaughter were handcuffed at one of the bank’s Vancouver branches.
2019
SEC conflict-of-interest settlement
Two Chicago-based BMO units paid US$38 million to settle allegations that conflicts of interest had not been disclosed to clients.
2018
Customer-data hacking incident
Hackers claimed to have compromised BMO systems and obtained information associated with approximately 50,000 customers while demanding a ransom.
2008
Trader admits deliberate trading-book mispricing
A BMO trader pleaded guilty to intentionally mismarking a trading book to increase a bonus.