BMO Bank of Montreal Slices Costs, Time With Web-Based Reporting

The Bank of Montreal was facing a challenge where business analysts and managers were spending a significant amount of their time going through paper reports to collect and rekey information. The bank needed a solution that would provide managers with more timely data and better access to information. The bank was exploring ways to deliver information to managers electronically, but all of the proposed solutions had high price tags. The bank's Monthly Progress Monitor was a mainframe system that generated reports from branches across Canada. The finance department would review the numbers at the end of each month and about 10 days later, thick paper reports with balance sheets, income statements, and other reports would start to roll off the printer. Performance data for each branch would be mailed or couriered to the branch manager, while district managers would try to cull data from bundles of reports for further analysis and comparison. Those results would be available 15-20 days after the end of the previous month and often required managers to manually input data from paper reports into spreadsheets or call bank headquarters to get additional information that wasn’t in their reports.

BMO Financial Group is a major financial institution that serves clients across Canada and in the United States. The bank operates through its Canadian retail arm BMO Bank of Montreal, BMO Nesbitt Burns, and Harris Bank. The bank offers a wide range of financial services to its customers, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management, and investment banking services. The bank has a large network of branches across Canada and a significant presence in the United States. The bank is committed to providing its customers with the best possible banking experience, which includes providing timely and accurate financial information to its managers and business analysts.