F. Anthony Comper

F. Anthony Comper, CM (born April 24, 1945), known as Tony Comper, is a Canadian banker. He served as president and chief executive officer of Bank of Montreal, which currently operates under the brand BMO Financial Group, and retired from that position on March 1, 2007.

Early life

Comper attended De La Salle College (Toronto) and received a B.A. in English from the St. Michael's College, Toronto in 1966.

Banking

Comper joined the Bank of Montreal as a management trainee afterwards. In 1990, he became President and Chief Operating Officer. He was promoted to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in 1999 after the departure of Matthew Barrett. As part of a corporate governance trend in 2004, he gave up the title of Chairman of the Board in favor of a non-management director. He has spent four decades at BMO.

Comper has been criticized in the past for his high salary and bonus which, according to some observers, is out of proportion to his value as a president of a fairly standard banking operation. He made $11 million in 2003. His policy of "service shrinkage", or decreasing the number of services offered for the same banking fee, has attracted criticism from customers. In 2006, on his watch, BMO was forced to refund overcharges on mortgage payments of approximately $250 per customer.^[1]

Comper stepped down on March 1, 2007, at BMO's annual meeting, but stayed on as an adviser until April 24, his 62nd birthday. This announcement came at the same time as BMO posted disappointing fourth quarter results, though they were record profits for the bank due to lower taxes and bad loans. He was succeeded by Bill Downe, who had been the frontrunner for the CEO position for the last few years, and formerly Chief Operating Officer of BMO.^[2][3]

Philanthropy

Comper served as Chairman of the University of Toronto's fundraising program Campaign for the University of Toronto (1995–2004), as Chairperson of the University of Toronto's Governing Council (circa 1995-1998) and as Vice-Chair of St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto.

Together with his wife Elizabeth, Comper founded FAST – Fighting Antisemitism Together, a Canadian group which opposes anti-Semitism and which describes itself as "a coalition of non-Jewish Canadian community and business leaders dedicated to speaking out against humanity's oldest hatred."

In 2010, Comper was made a Member of the Order of Canada, along with his wife Elizabeth (1945-2014),^[4] "for their commitment to the community at large as active volunteers and philanthropists".^[5]

Notes

1. "BMO to refund $7.1M to mortgage customers". CTV News. June 9, 2006. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
2. "Kudos to BMO's Tony Comper". The Toronto Star (Toronto, Ontario). Retrieved 12 October 2014.
3. "BMO's Tony Comper to retire in March". CBC News. November 28, 2006. Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2007.
4. "Obituary".
5. "Governor General Announces 54 New Appointments to the Order of Canada". December 30, 2010.

References

• Bank of Montreal Board of Directors: F. Anthony Comper consulted May 20, 2006.
• BMO Annual Report. 2005
• University of Toronto: Great Past: Anthony Comper consulted May 20, 2006.
• Canadian Who's Who 1997 entry consulted May 28, 2006.