- A culture focused on being helpful to customers in unexpected ways and providing customers with the information and proactive guidance they need to make the right financial decisions and feel confident about choosing Harris as their financial services provider.
- Strong, dynamic leaders with the knowledge, relationships, skills and authority to act decisively and responsibly.
- Ongoing training and coaching philosophy that develops the capabilities of our front-line sales and service employees to exceed expectations.
- A disciplined and transparent performance management system, aligned with our objectives, that rewards top performers and motivates underperformers.
- Highly effective community outreach and targeted marketing that combines strong, centralized expertise with local market insight.
MD&A
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Personal and Commercial Banking U.S. (P&C U.S.)
Who We Are
“We are here to help” – serving more than 1.2 million customers and working together with other Harris and BMO businesses in select U.S. Midwest markets. We respond to their needs in the way they prefer – online, in person or over the phone. Our emphasis on being an active part of the community allows us to use our local knowledge, specialized sales force and integrated distribution network of over 280 branches, our call centre, online banking and more than 640 automated banking machines to effectively deliver the highest level of service to our customers.
P&C U.S. Operating Group Review (PDF, 211 KB)
“We provide the help that enables our customers to have confidence in their financial decisions.”
Ellen Costello
President and Chief Executive Officer
Harris Financial Corp.
Vision
To be the bank that defines great customer experience.
Path to Differentiation
Strategies
- Deliver a differentiated customer experience, being helpful in unexpected ways and responsive to evolving customer needs and preferences.
- Deliver an integrated and differentiated experience for our customers with wealth management needs, in partnership with Private Client Group.
- Grow our commercial businesses and become the leading player in our markets through aggressively building our capabilities and strengthening our focus on this segment.
- Continue to expand our distribution network through a combination of acquisitions and organic expansion, taking advantage of recent market and industry events.
- Improve productivity through a performance-driven culture, putting the best people in key positions with clear accountabilities for results.
Strengths and Value Drivers
- A rich heritage of over 125 years across the U.S. Midwest with the established Harris brand and a commitment to service excellence.
- Strong market coverage, with over 280 branches conveniently located in communities in the Chicago area, Indiana and Wisconsin, allowing our customers to conduct transactions at any location as well as online and through our call centre.
- Deep relationships with local communities, businesses and leaders.
- A community banking business approach focused on delivering a differentiated customer experience, with competitive product offerings, an effective distribution network, including our call centre, online banking and ABMs, and strong sales management and marketing capabilities.
- Opportunity to leverage the capabilities and scale of BMO Financial Group while emphasizing local authority, accountability, knowledge and commitment.
Challenges
- The economic environment is very difficult, with contracting credit markets, a changing regulatory environment and persistent uncertainty over the strength of the overall economy.
- Chicago-area market dynamics remain intensely competitive within a consolidating U.S. marketplace as banks compete aggressively on price to achieve deposit growth.
Key Performance Metrics and Drivers
| 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average US$ loan growth (%) | 10.8 | 11.4 | 15.2 |
| Average US$ deposit growth (%) | 8.4 | 8.4 | 3.4 |
| Cash operating leverage (%) | (7.0) | (1.7) | (2.4) |
| Number of branches | 281 | 232 | 202 |
| Employee engagement index (1) | 74 | 72 | 69 |
| Retail Net Promoter Score (2) | 42 | 41 | 39 |
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(1) Source: BMO’s Annual Employee Survey, conducted by Burke Inc., an independent research company. (2) A measure of the strength of customer loyalty. |
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Our Lines of Business
P&C U.S. offers a full range of products and services to consumers and businesses, including deposit and investment services, mortgages, consumer credit, business lending, cash management and other banking services.
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