Monday, December 20, 2010

Bank of Montreal Increases U.S. Presence

The Bank of Montreal is buying a Milwaukee-based bank, the latest example of Canadian banks using their muscle to snap up U.S. financial institutions battered by the economic crisis.

Canada's fourth-largest bank announced Friday that it was acquiring Marshall & Ilsley Corp. for $4.1 billion in stock, doubling its presence in the U.S. from 321 branches to 695.

Canadian banks, ranked the soundest in the world by the World Economic Forum, weathered the economic crises far better than their counterparts in other countries.