The Bank of London and Montreal Limited was a joint venture between the Bank of London and South America (BOLSA), a subsidiary of Lloyds Bank, and the Bank of Montreal. It was established in 1958 and headquartered in Nassau, Bahamas.
History
In 1958, Bank of London and South America, a partner of Lloyds Bank, and Bank of Montreal set up Bank of London and Montreal as a 50-50 joint venture with its main office in Nassau, Bahamas. Bank of Montreal provided capital, and BOLSA contributed its branches in northern South America and the West Indies. In 1959, the Bank of London and Montreal (BOLAM) opened a branch in Jamaica. In 1960, BOLAM established a branch in Trinidad. In 1965, Mellon National Bank bought 15% of BOLAM's shares. Lloyds' stake dropped to 24 percent. Bolam closed its offices in Venezuela and bought a lot of shares in Banco La Guaira Internacional, which had branches in Caracas and La Guaira. The Bank of England let Mellon raise its stake to 25% in 1968.
BOLSA bought BOLAM in 1970. BOLAM had 28 branches all over Latin America and the Caribbean. The Bank of Montreal sold its branches and operations in Trinidad and Tobago to the government there, which then used the money to start a new bank called National Commercial Bank. This is now the First Citizens Bank. The Bank of Montreal took over the branches on April 17, 1970, and they became Bank of Montreal (Bahamas & Caribbean). In 1983, they changed the name to Bank of Montreal Bahamas Limited.