Banks looking out for shareholders' interests

It's been quite a while since I wrote in to a paper commenting on an article, but today I just had to. The column by Mark Pavilons (Huge gifts vs. huge profits, Feb. 7) regarding giving, and the Bank Of Montreal just has me steaming. No wonder some of these "commentators" have such a bad reputation.

Rockefeller, Carnegie, etc. gave money away personally. They did not take money from their shareholders to give away. The Bank of Montreal is owned by thousands of shareholders who, by the way, might also be giving away their money to charity. However, most of the shareholders are depending on their BMO earnings for their retirement. The writer himself probably has BMO in a mutual fund. The CEOs of BMO are expected to maximize the bank's profit, not give it away. That is up to the shareholders.

I think these writers should be required to do their homework before putting pencil to paper. A lot of people depend on them for accurate information.

N. Driedger