By Dee Longfellow
According to a story in the Chicago Tribune, BMO Harris Bank is announced that it is closing nine of its 182 branches in the Chicago area in early December.
According to the article, it will reduce the bank’s footprint by 5 percent in what is its largest market in the U.S. No information about the action was available at the BMO Harris Bank web site.
Those set to close include the branch in Elmhurst, the BMO Harris announced Monday, Dec. 6, according to the Tribune. Other locations set to close are in South Holland, Aurora, Flossmoor, Summit, Naperville and Barrington, as well as two Chicago branches, one in Logan Square and the other in Wicker Park.
“Our customers are changing how they want to conduct their banking with us, and we continually assess the performance of all of our operations, including our branches, to ensure we are best positioned to meet our customers’ evolving needs,” BMO spokesman Patrick O’Herlihy said in a statement released to the Tribune.
O’Herlihy indicated that the bank also plans to close six other locations outside of the state of Illinois, also in early December. The company has more than 500 branches in Illinois, Indiana, Arizona, Missouri, Minnesota, Kansas, Florida and Wisconsin.
Bank of Montreal, now known as BMO Financial Group, acquired Chicago-based Harris Bank in 1984. According to the Tribune’s report, Chicago is the largest U.S. market for the Canadian banking giant, with more than a third of its U.S. branches in Chicago and the suburbs.
The story further pointed out that dozens of employees work at the nine Chicago-area BMO branches that are closing, but O’Herlihy said they are going to assist them with employment transition.
“We are committed to redeploying the majority of impacted employees and will be working actively to do so over the coming weeks and months,” O’Herlihy said. “In cases where this is not possible, we provide appropriate notice and severance to assist in employment transition.”
