CHAPTER XXXVII
FINANCE
MONTREAL BANKING AND INSURANCE BODIES
I. BANKING: HAMILTON’S PLAN FOLLOWED BY THE FIRST BANK OF THE UNITED STATES IN 1791—1792, THE ATTEMPTED CANADA BANKING COMPANY AT MONTREAL—DELAY THROUGH AMERICAN WAR OF 1812—1815, RENEWED AGITATION FOR A BANK CHARTER FOR MONTREAL—1817, THE FIRST BANK OF MONTREAL WITHOUT A CHARTER—ITS FIRST OFFICERS—OTHER BANKS FOLLOW—THE QUEBEC BANK—THE RIVAL “BANK OF CANADA”—THE BANK OF BRITISH NORTH AMERICA—MOLSONS BANK—THE MERCHANTS BANK—BANQUE JACQUES CARTIER, PREDECESSOR TO BANQUE PROVINCIALE—THE ROYAL BANK—THE BANQUE D’HOCHELAGA—THE MONTREAL CITY AND DISTRICT BANK—BANKS WITH HEAD OFFICES ELSEWHERE—MONTREAL BANK CLEARINGS WITH CANADIAN AND NORTH AMERICAN CITIES.
II. INSURANCE: THE PIONEER FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY OF CANADA—THE “PHOENIX”—THE “AETNA”—IN THE FIFTIES AND SIXTIES—THE GREAT FIRE OF 1854—LATER COMPANIES. A. LIFE INSURANCE: THE PIONEER COMPANIES—THE SCOTTISH AMICABLE AND SCOTTISH PROVIDENT COMPANIES. B. MISCELLANEOUS INSURANCE.
I. BANKING
THE RISE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE BANKS OF MONTREAL[1]
As Montreal has been for many years the financial center of the country, a considerable part of Canada’s banking history is contained in the story of the formation and growth of the city’s representative banks.
It is well known that there was no joint stock bank existent in British North America one hundred years ago.