Bank of Montreal and members of its group of companies will be identified as BMO Financial Group, the bank announced today.

The initials “BMO” will link all of the bank’s member companies. The approach has already been used to identify the brokerage firm BMO Nesbitt Burns and other members of the bank’s group of companies. The bank said the increased use of BMO is the next logical step in an evolutionary process that started two years ago.

The familiar m-bar logo, in use since 1967, will continue to be used but is updated within a red roundel.

“The new BMO Financial Group identifier tells a unifying story for the bank and all its member companies,” says Tony Comper, chairman and CEO, BMO Financial Group. “Today Bank of Montreal is involved in a number of businesses. The BMO prefix will clearly show these businesses have the full strength, resources and values of this 185 year-old institution behind them.

The branding will also begin to appear on branches as signage is updated, branches are refurbished and new branches are constructed. Branches will continue to be identified “Bank of Montreal,” with the inclusion of the BMO prefix and roundel. Phase-in of the new branding will also occur as inventories of supplies, such as stationery, forms and point of sale materials are replenished.

Advertising and promotion material will display the new-look logos as early as this fall.

“The roundel reinforces the association and links to member companies such as BMO Nesbitt Burns and BMO Mutual Funds, which already use the red identifier,” says Michael Beckerman, senior vice president, Corporate Marketing.

Beckerman said the visual identity changes will be most visible in Canada. In the U.S., where the bank’s Harris brand enjoys strong and favourable recognition, an enterprise endorsement signature, “a member of BMO Financial Group,” will be linked to all Harris branding in the near future.