News Releases

Tony Comper, President and CEO, BMO Financial Group will ring The Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, October 7, 2004 to celebrate BMO's 10th anniversary of listing.

On October 27, 1994, the "BMO" stock symbol moved for the first time across the electronic ticker at the NYSE. This achievement marked the first time that a Canadian bank had listed its common shares on the "Big Board," the largest stock exchange in the world.

"In 1994 we decided to list on the NYSE to further our U.S. strategy," said Mr. Comper. "Today, we have a strong franchise that serves 1.5 million customers in some of the most lucrative markets in the U.S. as our results validate the selective and disciplined growth strategies that we have had in place over this time."

Established in 1817 as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group (TSX, NYSE: BMO) is a highly diversified financial services organization. With total assets of $262 billion (Cdn.) as at July 31, 2004 and more than 34,000 employees, BMO provides a broad range of retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and solutions. BMO Financial Group serves clients across Canada through its Canadian retail arm BMO Bank of Montreal. In the United States, BMO serves clients through Harris, an integrated financial services organization that provides 1.5 million personal, business, corporate and institutional clients with banking, lending, investing, financial planning, trust administration, portfolio management, family office and wealth transfer services.

Note to Photo Editors: A photo of The Opening Bell will be available on the Canadian Press Photo Network on October 7, 2004.

Note to Television Networks: The Opening Bell (starting at 9:25 a.m. E.D.T.) feeds are available via fiber line at Waterfront #1630.

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