Skip navigation

BMO Harris wins Gold at the 2021 North American Best in Biz Awards

December 6, 2021 | Customers

BMO Harris took the top spot in the 2021 Best in Biz Awards for our Black and Latinx Small Business Program. The program is part of BMO’s five-year, $5 billion BMO EMpower commitment aimed at inclusive economic recovery and expanded earlier this year to be available in all markets where BMO Harris operates branches.

This year’s awards saw intense competition among over 700 impressively strong entries from public and private companies of all sizes and spanning all geographic regions and industries in the U.S. and Canada – ranging from some of the best-known global brands to the most innovative start-ups and local companies.

The Black and Latinx Small Business team won Gold in the Small/Medium Business Product category for the program’s resilience, digital adaptability, remarkable growth numbers, exemplary dedication to customers and commitment to local communities.

Making an impact

  • Over USD$12 million in working capital has been put into the hands of over 300 small businesses owners in Illinois during the pilot
  • With BMO’s Business Banking Xpress (BBX) digital platform, customers can conveniently and easily apply online in just 15 minutes, saving business owners time to focus on what matters most – their business
  • The team has also delivered over 300 hours of educational webinars in collaboration with community partners to provide help and advice to hundreds of business owners

“It’s an honor to receive such a prestigious award – one that recognizes the power of BMO’s Purpose-driven program for Black and Latinx small business communities. The response to the program has been tremendous and I sincerely thank everyone who has led and supported the successful nation-wide rollout which started as a pilot a little over a year ago,” said Niamh Kristufek, Head of U.S. Business Banking at BMO Harris Bank, “I’m incredibly proud of what we have accomplished so far and continue to accomplish with this program. This is our Purpose in action. Congratulations to all!”

Learn more about our award-winning Black and Latinx Small Business Program.

Related Insights

Explore our services
Checking Accounts
Savings Accounts
Credit Cards
Loans
Mortgages
Investing & Retirement
Security Center
How We Protect You
How to Protect Yourself
Report Fraud
Security Alerts
Security Learning Center
Security Tips
Ways to Bank
Overview
Digital Banking
Register for Digital Banking
Bank by Phone
Bank at Work Services
Make a One Time Payment for your Non-Real Estate Loan
Payment Assistance for Mortgage and Home Equity
Customer support
Branch locator

Disclosure

Privacy
Legal
Security
Site map
Careers
About Our Ads
Accessibility
Cookie Usage
About BMO

App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Apple and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. 

Android, Google Play, and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc. 

Banking products and services are subject to bank and credit approval and are provided in the United States by BMO Bank N.A. Member FDIC.

equal housing lender NMLS 401052

Notice to Customers  

To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law (USA Patriot Act (Title III of Pub. L. 107 56 signed into law October 26, 2001) requires all financial organizations to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. When you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth and other information that will allow us to identify you. We may also ask you to provide a copy of your driver's license or other identifying documents. For each business or entity that opens an account, we will ask for your name, address and other information that will allow us to identify the entity. We may also ask you to provide a copy of your certificate of incorporation (or similar document) or other identifying documents. The information you provide in this form may be used to perform a credit check and verify your identity by using internal sources and third party vendors. If the requested information is not provided within 30 calendar days, the account will be subject to closure.  

Third party web sites may have privacy and security policies different from BMO. Links to other web sites do not imply the endorsement or approval of such web sites.  

Please review the privacy and security policies of web sites reached through links from BMO web sites. This information is not intended to be tax or legal advice. This information cannot be used by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer. This information is being used to support the promotion or marketing of the planning strategies discussed herein. BMO Bank N.A. and its affiliates do not provide legal or tax advice to clients. You should review your particular circumstances with your independent legal and tax advisors.