The City Bank of Montreal (known in French as "La Banque de la Cité") was an early bank founded in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

in 1833, when it was part of

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

. It was founded as a counterpart to the

Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (BMO; french: Banque de Montréal, link=no) is a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank; while its head office remains in ...

, whose politically conservative directors made it difficult for leading liberals to do business in the province. During its existence, it issued a number of tokens for use in trade, and is known for producing many varieties of the

Bouquet sou Bouquet sou were a series of Token coin, tokens that were created for use primarily within Lower Canada in the mid- to late-1830s. Roughly equivalent in value to a Halfpenny (British pre-decimal coin), half penny, the "bouquet sou" were so called ...

, and for co-issuing the

Habitant token The Habitant token were a series of tokens that were created for use primarily within Lower Canada and were issued in 1837. Produced as a successor to the popular bouquet sous, these tokens depicted a Habitant on the obverse, a traditional depi ...

along with the other leading banks of Montreal in the late 1830s. It also issued paper money. It also had branches in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, and in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

.Manning City Bank merged with

Royal Canadian Bank The Consolidated Bank of Canada was created from the merger of City Bank and Royal Canadian Bank in 1876, but collapsed in 1880 and finally liquidated in 1882. References See also Defunct banks of Canada Banks disestablished in 1882 ...

to form

Consolidated Bank of Canada The Consolidated Bank of Canada was created from the merger of City Bank and Royal Canadian Bank in 1876, but collapsed in 1880 and finally liquidated in 1882. References See also Defunct banks of Canada Banks disestablished in 1882 ...

in 1876.

Bibliography

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References

Defunct banks of Canada Banks disestablished in 1876 Banks established in 1849 1876 disestablishments in Canada Canadian companies established in 1849 {{Montreal-stub