Wisconsin Banking Update
Providing banking news in Wisconsin that Wisconsin Bankers can use. Keep on top of all the banking issues that are affecting Wisconsin in one place. If you would like to receive these updates by email please subscribe by entering your email address on the right. There is no cost and no obligation.
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Lenders Calling on M&I Customers
Posted on December 22nd, 2010 No commentsLenders at other Wisconsin banks are taking advantage of opportunities for new business after the recently announced acquisition of M&I Bank by BMO Financial. Read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article and The Business Journal blog. -
M&I Shareholder Sues Over Acquisition
Posted on December 21st, 2010 No commentsA shareholder filed a class action lawsuit against Marshall and Isley Bank claiming the current acquisition deal between M&I and the Bank of Montreal is unfair, reported WISN-TV in Milwaukee. -
Canada Banks on a ‘Buyout Binge’
Posted on December 18th, 2010 No commentsCanada’s biggest banks are on a buyout binge, often targeting weaker rivals in other nations. Canada’s No. 4 lender, Toronto-based Bank of Montreal, often known as BMO Financial Group, announced the biggest of the recent takeovers with its friendly $4.1 billion acquisition of Marshall & Ilsley Corp. – a change not likely to affect customers. Read more in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Appleton Post-Crescent, or Green Bay Press-Gazette. -
M&I Announces Acquisition by BMO
Posted on December 17th, 2010 No commentsAfter two years in the red and facing a still-bumpy road back to profitability, Marshall & Ilsley Corp. announced its acquisition by the Canadian parent company of Harris Bank, a move that should invigorate the wounded M&I franchise but will cost Milwaukee a corporate headquarters. The all-stock deal is valued at $4.1 billion. Read more in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Small Business Times and The Business Journal. -
M&I, BMO Deal Came Together Quickly
Posted on December 17th, 2010 No commentsThe deal between BMO Financial Group and Marshall & Ilsley Corp. “came together quickly,” according to BMO’s CEO Bill Downe, but the Canadian company carefully reviewed M&I’s loan portfolio before proceeding, The Business Journal reported. -
Leaders Put Positive Spin on Deal
Posted on December 17th, 2010 No commentsCommunity leaders were putting a positive spin on the news that Marshall & Ilsley Corp will be purchased by BMO Financial Group. They said Harris will want to keep M&I’s market share and goodwill in the community and thus is likely to keep up M&I’s community involvement. Read The Business Journal article. -
Editorial: ‘Why We Don’t Cheer’
Posted on December 17th, 2010 No comments“One of Wisconsin’s oldest and most venerated corporate citizens, Marshall & Ilsley Corp., is being sold. And no matter how long the corporate publicity machines whir, they can’t change the nagging feeling that this deal is of questionable value for Milwaukee,” wrote the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel in an editorial. -
‘New Money Won’ in M&I Deal
Posted on December 17th, 2010 No commentsMarshall & Ilsley Corp., Wisconsin’s largest bank holding company, was sold to BMO – the Canadian operator of the Bank of Montreal and Harris Bank – for $4.1 billion in stock, or $7.75 a share. Not a bad price, if you purchased the stock last year for $5.75 a share in one of M&I’s two offerings – but if you’re a longtime shareholder, the sale price doesn’t look so hot. Some say a change in the bank’s lending style was responsible for the dramatic losses that led to the sale. Read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article. -
Harris Paid $245M for Amcore
Posted on September 3rd, 2010 No commentsAmcore Bank branches will soon unveil their new Harris Bank signs. The Chicago-based Harris, the U.S. arm of Bank of Montreal, paid $244.9 million for $2.5 billion in assets of Amcore Bank, Rockford, Ill., according to documents obtained from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Business Journal of Milwaukee reported.
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Another M&I Exec Goes to Harris Bank
Posted on July 30th, 2010 No commentsHarris Bank has hired another former M&I Bank executive, Peter Engel, who will serve as Harris’ president of retail banking for the state. Tom Bolger, a former M&I executive who joined Harris Bank previously, has the new title of president of commercial banking for Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.