Best Banks Awards: BMO Capital Markets

The Canadian dollar rarely exhibits the kind of behaviour that its nickname, the Loonie, suggests. Its fortunes are tied to commodity prices and investors tend to sell the currency alongside its New Zealand peer when sentiment deteriorates.

But this year, trade became the centre of attention for Canadian dollar market participants, as US president Donald Trump threatened to end the 24-year North American Trade Agreement, putting the Loonie and the Mexican peso under pressure.

While a last-minute deal between the US and Canada was reached in August, replacing Nafta with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, reliability and service became even more important than usual amid the uncertainty.

BMO Capital Markets will hold the award for Best Bank for the Canadian Dollar a little while longer, after currency market participants worldwide voted it at the top of its category for the eighth consecutive year.

Blake Jespersen, managing director of corporate sales and structuring at BMO, tells FX Week that such success can be directly attributed to the bank’s steadfast commitment to client service in all of the regions it serves.

Our clients come to us for our expertise in Canadian dollar products and we are proud of our leadership position in that currency

Blake Jespersen, BMO Capital Markets 

“Our clients come to us for our expertise in Canadian dollar products and we are proud of our leadership position in that currency. We have also had tremendous consistency in our client coverage as our sales professionals are experienced and have been with us for many years. This has forged deep client relationships, which we feel is a competitive advantage in the evolving FX market,” Jespersen says.

According to a monetary policy report released by the Bank of Canada in October, increasing foreign and domestic demand, as well as favourable financial conditions will continue to support the country’s economy. The completion of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement negotiations not only reduced trade policy uncertainty, but also the associated drag on business investment and exports.

“We see many investors holding the view that the Canadian dollar will be stronger versus Europe and parts of Asia,” says Kate Stothers, managing director of fixed-income currencies and commodities investor sales at BMO Capital Markets.

Strong performance

Stothers adds that despite the challenges weighing on the Canadian economy, it has performed well, partly because of the strength of the US economy, which is expected to continue.

“We believe the Bank of Canada will continue to raise interest rates in 2019, and the economy will grow at a faster rate than many other G7 nations,” she says.

As the Canadian economy grows steadily and welcomes new business, BMO plans to remain a leader on home turf, but it is also eyeing other markets.

“BMO is also dedicated to growing our US footprint. The bank has made some strategic acquisitions in the past year, which we believe will also help bolster our foreign exchange franchise,” Jespersen says.

“We continue to expand selectively in Asia, and we are monitoring the situation in the UK closely for how Brexit will impact our broader business going forward,” he adds.

Interviews with the 2018 FX Week Best Banks Awards winners

JP Morgan

Best Bank Overall for Foreign Exchange Dealing

Best Bank for FX for Banks

Best Bank for FX for Investors

Best Bank for Spot FX

Best Bank for FX Forwards

Best Bank for EUR/USD

Best Bank for USD/JPY

Best Bank for EUR/JPY

Best Bank for E-Trading

Citi

Best Bank for FX for Corporates

Best Bank for Currency Options

Best Bank for Structured Products

Best Bank for FX Prime Brokerage

Best Bank for FX in North America

Best Bank for Emerging European, Middle Eastern and African Currencies

Best Bank for FX Research and Strategy

HSBC

Best Bank for FX in Asia-Pacific

Best Bank for Renminbi

Best Bank for Emerging Asian Currencies

Deutsche Bank

Best Bank for FX in the Eurozone

ANZ

Best Bank for Australian Dollar

Barclays

Best Bank for GBP/USD

Best Bank for EUR/GBP

Best Bank for FX in London

UBS

Best Bank for Swiss Franc

NatWest Markets

Best Bank for FX Post-Trade Services

360T

Best Professional e-Trading Venue

Best Vendor for Dealing Technology

Refinitiv

Best Broker for Forward FX

Best Broker for Emerging Markets FX

LCH

Best FX Clearing House

EBS

Best Broker for Spot FX

Bloomberg

Best Market Data Provider for FX

Danske Bank

Best Bank for Scandinavian Currencies

Standard Bank

Best Bank for South African Rand

Best Bank for African Currencies excluding ZAR

BMO Capital Markets

Best Bank for Canadian Dollar

Banco Santander

Best Bank for Emerging Latin American Currencies

kACE

Best Vendor for Risk Management/Options Pricing Software

Saxo Bank

Best Prime-of-Prime House

BGC (no interview)

Best Broker for Currency Options