A team of eight will provide private banking services in English, Mandarin, Cantonese and Italian. They will offer clients banking, investment management, estate and trust services.

“Markham in particular has a thriving Asian community and the opening of our office in this location enables us to offer our services to this demographic more effectively,” said Luciano Blandi, vice president and market manager for the greater Toronto area. “These services include managing cross-border investments in China and elsewhere, and assisting new Canadians in their financial transition to Canada.”

According to a recent study by BMO Harris Private Banking, the “face of wealth is changing” in Ontario, with almost half of HNW Ontarians (defined as those with at least $1 million in investable assets) either not born in Canada or having at least one parent born outside the country, Blandi noted. Markham is a fast-growing part of the Toronto economy and has seen its population more than double since 1990, added Robert Kavcic, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.

BMO Harris Private Banking has 34 offices in Canada, which includes locations in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.