Harris Bank was founded by Norman Wait Harris. The mid-western bank is based in Chicago, Illinois, and is owned by the Canadian based Bank of Montreal. Today its is known as Harris Financial Services Corporation.

History

Norman Wait Harris arrived in Chicago and established N.W. Harris and Company in the late 1800s and founded Harris Bank in 1882. Other key events for Harris Bank include:

• Harris Trust and Savings Bank was created in 2004
• Merger with Chicago National Bank 1960
• Harris Bankcorp, Incorporation formed 1972
• Bank of Montreal (later as BMO Financial Group) acquires Harris 1984
• First National Bank of Barrington acquired 1985
• Libertyville Federal Savings Bank and Loan and Frankfort Bancshares 1990
• Harris Bankcorp and Suburban Bancorp combined under the Harris name 1994
• Household Bank acquired 1996
• direct brokerage firm Burke, Christensen & Lewis merged with Harris Investors Direct to form Harris InvestorLine 1999
• Chicagoland acquired 1999-2000
• Freeman Welwood acquired 2000
• Village Bank of Naples (Florida) and Century Bank in Arizona acquired 2001
• First National Bank of Joliet acquired 2001
• Northwestern Trust and Investors Advisory Company in Seattle, Washington acquired 2002
• Harris InvestorLine is combined with CSFBdirect to form Harrisdirect 2002
• online client accounts of Morgan Stanley Individual Investor Group acquired 2002
• myCFO acquired 2002
• Sullivan, Bruyette Speros & Blayney Incorporated acquired 2003
• Lakeland Community Bank in Round Lake and New Lenox State Bank in Will County acquired 2004
• Mercantile Bancorp. Inc. based in Hammond, Indiana acquired 2004
• Intent to acquire Villa Park Trust and Savings Bank 2005
• First National Bank & Trust, based in Kokomo, Indiana acquired 2007
• Ozaukee Bank, scheduled to be acquired Q3 2008
• Merchant and Manufacturers Bankcorp Inc, scheduled to be acquired Q3 2008

Harris Bank is a member of the Federal Reserves system.