Financial History Issue 124 (Winter 2018) | Page 35
Early $20 bank note from the Montreal Bank, the first bank in Canada, dated January 1, 1818.
been paid to the establishment of the
Bank of Montreal (BMO). The founding
of the bank was prompted in part by a
desire for paper currency, which resulted
from experience with army bills during
the 1812 War. By 1816, all army bills had
been redeemed successfully, creating an
urgent need for a replacement currency.
In November 1817, the Bank of Montreal
opened its doors, with articles of associa-
tion but without a charter, which it did not
obtain for five years.
The key individual involved in the
founding of the ba