Bank of the People Montreal in 1840. Until 1835, every bank in Upper Canada required a legislated charter which established it as a legal person able to sue, and be sued at law. Only two Banks had been chartered: the Bank of Upper Canada and the Commercial Bank of the Midland District. Both banks were controlled by the "Family Compact" who used their control of the currency supply and credit to control trade and ultimately, the farmers. They had a "licensed monopoly" to print paper money, which reduced competition. In 1835, Dr Charles Duncombe, a Reform politician in the Legislative Assembly, was part of
Bank of Melbourne (1989) Exchange following on 13 July 1989. The first chairman of the bank was Christopher Stewart, who chose Australian actor Jack Thompson to head the bank's TV advertising campaign, which ran for a decade. The bank focused operations on retail banking, with a branch network and operations focused on the state of Victoria. As a former building society, the bank was also heavily involved in lending in the residential property market. In 1996 the bank acquired the Victorian business of Challenge Bank from Westpac for A$659.7 million, making the Bank of Melbourne the fourth largest regional bank, and the eighth largest