News Releases
HALIFAX, NS, September 15, 2008 – BMO Harris Private Banking, Canada's fastest growing private bank, officially opened its new expanded office in Halifax today, in the presence of local dignitaries. The BMO Harris Private Banking office offers a unique wealth management service designed specifically to meet the increasingly complex financial needs of affluent Canadians.
Ryan McNally, Vice President and Managing Director for Atlantic Canada, leads the 20-person team of skilled and highly trained professionals to deliver the kind of dedicated and specialized services that are required by this unique customer segment.
"We're very pleased to offer the same outstanding personalized services to which our clients have become accustomed and we will now be able to provide more room for clients to conduct business in a welcoming and confidential environment" said Ryan McNally. "Our team of experienced professionals is serving the needs of clients throughout Atlantic Canada, with offices in Halifax but also in Moncton, New Brunswick and in a few weeks, in St. John's, Newfoundland."
The one-storey, 9,700 square foot office in Halifax, is located on the 16th floor of the BMO Building at 5151 George Street. It houses a team of professionals specializing in a wide variety of disciplines such as banking, investment management, estate and trust services, fiscal planning, as well as other specialty services, such as philanthropic advisory, and succession planning.
One such specialty service, that has been well received in Nova Scotia since its launch in 2005, is enCircle, a unique wealth management service designed specifically for affluent Canadians in their senior years and their adult children, who as their main caregivers are often busy with their own careers and families.
“We believe that the enCircle service, delivered through dedicated enCircle Advisors, has set the standard for providing independent and fulfilled lives for our seniors and peace of mind for their families,” said Andrew Auerbach, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, BMO Harris Private Banking. “This financial and lifestyle service assists with time-consuming tasks, such as the payment of bills, investment management, estate planning, the co-ordination of filing of tax returns, applying for travel insurance, travel banking and home and health care education.”
BMO Harris Private Banking also offers highly specialized succession planning financing services and expertise. “Canadian business owners are undecided about a planned exit strategy with the vast majority unsure how, when or to whom they will relinquish their business” added Ryan McNally. In Atlantic Canada, a recent Harris/Decima study commissioned by BMO Bank of Montreal showed that only 27 per cent indicated they were 10 or more years from retirement, which suggests there are a far greater number of owners in this region who have less than a decade to get a succession plan in place.”
To mark the official opening of the new premises, Ryan McNally, joined by BMO Bank of Montreal Nova Scotia's Vice President Mike Bonner, and Steve Murphy, Senior Vice President, Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Bank of Montreal, Atlantic Division, made a special donation of $45,000 to the Cobequid Community Health Centre Foundation towards the purchase of a portable X ray machine.
BMO Harris Private Banking, a member of BMO Financial Group, serves the needs of affluent clients and their families; helping them with a wide range of complex financial issues. Modeled on the highly-regarded private banking business of Harris Bank, BMO's Chicago-based U.S. subsidiary, which has been managing money for clients for more than 100 years, the opening of the office signals a confidence in market opportunities to serve the needs of the region's affluent citizens.
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