{{Short description|Canadian bank (1855–1925)}} {{Infobox company | logo = Molsons Bank crest.png | industry = Banking | fate = Acquired by the Bank of Montreal | founded = {{Start date|1855|05|19|df=y}} | defunct = {{End date|1925}} | hq_location = Molson Bank Building | hq_location_city = Montreal, Quebec | num_locations = 125 }}

The '''Molsons Bank''' was a Canadian bank founded in Montreal, Quebec, by brothers William (1793–1875) and John Molson, Jr. (1787–1860), the sons of brewery magnate John Molson.

==Operations== In 1837, the bank opened and issued its first banknotes.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://canadacurrency.com/chartered-bank-notes/montreal/value-of-old-banknotes-from-the-molsons-bank-of-montreal-canada |title=Value of Old Banknotes from The Molsons Bank of Montreal, Canada |website=canadacurrency.com|date=12 September 2013 }}</ref> In 1850, it was constituted under the ''Free Banking Act'' passed by the parliament of the Province of Canada. To increase its powers and its revenue, the bank was incorporated in 1855. It was granted a charter on May 19, 1855 in Montreal<ref>{{cite book |title=Fitzhenry and Whiteside Book of Canadian Facts and Dates |last=Pound |first=Richard W. |publisher=Fitzhenry and Whiteside |year=2005}}</ref> allowing it to operate its bank in the same way as other banks. With its head office at the corner of St. James & St. Peter streets (today known as Saint-Jacques and Saint-Pierre streets) in Montreal, it continued in operation until 1925 when it merged with the Bank of Montreal.

==Branches== The bank operated 125 branches primarily in Quebec and Ontario. It also had branches in western Canada and agents in the US and UK.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wark|first=S. Arnold|title=City of Calgary year book|year=1919|location=Calgary|page=123|url=http://www.ourfutureourpast.ca/loc_hist/page.aspx?id=3571323|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130918061033/http://www.ourfutureourpast.ca/loc_hist/page.aspx?id=3571323|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 18, 2013}}</ref>

The Bank of Montreal at 3 King Street South, Waterloo, Ontario, is a former branch of the Molson Bank that was built in 1914 and is on the Registry of Historical Places of Canada.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=14386&pid=0 |title=Bank of Montreal 3, Waterloo |website=Canada's Historic Places|publisher=Parks Canada |access-date=August 6, 2022}}</ref>

==Presidents== # William Molson, 1855–1875 # John Thomas Molson, 1875–1879 # Thomas Workman, 1879–1889 # John Henry Robinson Molson, 1889–1897 # William Molson Macpherson, 1897–1922 # Frederick William Molson, 1922–1924<ref>{{Cite web| title=The BMO Legacy - Two Centuries of Commitment to Customers | url=http://www.bmo.com/bmo/files/images/4/1/BMOHistoryEng.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121153556/http://www2.bmo.com/bmo/files/images/4/1/BMOHistoryEng.pdf | archive-date=2008-11-21}}</ref>

==Gallery== <gallery mode="nolines"> File:Banque Molson.jpg|Montreal (head office) File:Molsons Bank, Toronto.png|Toronto (main) File:Molson Bank, Dundas Street, Toronto.jpg|Toronto (west) File:The Bank of Montreal, Waterloo (formerly Molsons Bank Building).jpg|Waterloo, Ontario File:Molson Bank Saint-Rémi Notre-Dame.jpg|Montreal (Saint-Rémi & Notre-Dame) File:Molsons Bank, Kitchener Ontario.png|Kitchener File:Molsons Bank, Hamilton, Ontario.png|Hamilton File:Molsons Bank, St Thomas, Ontario.png|St Thomas File:Molson Bank, Hastings Street, Vancouver.jpg|Vancouver (main) File:Molson Bank, 166 E Hastings, Vancouver.png|Vancouver (east end) File:Molsons Bank, Calgary.png|Calgary File:Molsons Bank, Port Arthur, Ontario.png|Port Arthur File:Molsons Bank, Lachine, Quebec.png|Lachine File:Molsons Bank, Drummondville, Quebec.png|Drummondville File:Molsons Bank, Sorel, Quebec.png|Sorel File:Molsons Bank, Norwich, Ontario.png|Norwich File:Molsons Bank, St Lawrence & Ontario, Montreal.png|Montreal (St Lawrence & Ontario) File:Molsons Bank, Bedford, Quebec.png|Bedford File:Molsons Bank, Park & Bernard, Montreal.png|Montreal (Park & Bernard) File:Molsons Bank, Revelstoke, British Columbia.jpg|Revelstoke </gallery>

==See also== *List of banks in Canada *Molson Bank Building, Montreal

==References== {{reflist}}

== Bibliography == *Denison, Merrill, 1893–1975. Canada's first bank : a history of the Bank of Montreal. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, c1966. 2 v. : ill., maps, ports., (some folded, some col).; 25&nbsp;cm.

{{Commons}} {{Bank of Montreal}} {{Canadian banks}}

Category:Defunct banks of Canada Category:Companies based in Montreal + Category:Banks established in 1850 Category:Banks disestablished in 1925 Category:Bank of Montreal Category:1850 establishments in Canada East Category:1925 disestablishments in Quebec Category:Canadian companies established in 1850

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