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BMO Harris Private Banking has been ranked as the best private bank in Canada for the third year in Euromoney Magazine's annual survey of global private banking firms. BMO Harris Private Banking placed first in 14 of 34 categories. This is the third year Euromoney has produced this survey, which was published in the January 2006 issue.

“Being recognized as the top performer in Canada keeps us focused on excellence as we serve our clients. We strive continually to improve and learn from what the best in the world are doing,” said Terry Jenkins, Senior Vice-President and Executive Managing Director, BMO Harris Private Banking. “This recognition also validates our strategy, which is built upon providing high-net-worth clients with a streamlined and integrated wealth service approach to their financial needs.”

A unique feature of the annual Euromoney Magazine survey is that only those private banks nominated by their global peers qualify for the ranking.  Nominated firms then fill out a detailed questionnaire which forms the basis of Euromoney's qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the best private banks.  Responses to this year's global poll increased by 30 per cent and generated more than 21,000 peer nominations.

BMO Harris Private Banking ranked first in 14 categories, including:

-        Best provider of philanthropy services

-        Best at relationship management        

-        Best provider of portfolio management: equities                              

-        Best provider of inheritance and succession planning

-        Best provider for tax guidance and services

BMO Harris Private Banking serves the needs of high net worth clients and their families and helps them deal with a wide range of complex financial issues, providing comprehensive wealth management expertise. The bank's team of professionals is comprised of leading specialists in a variety of disciplines including banking, investment management, estate, trust and various family office services such as philanthropic and business succession planning.

BMO Harris Private Banking is part of BMO Financial Group's Private Client Group. The Private Client Group provides integrated wealth management services in Canada and the United States and had total assets under administration and term investments of $255.9 billion as at October 31, 2005.

About Euromoney Magazine

Euromoney is one of the most authoritative sources of detailed yet concise information on the trends and developments in international banking and the capital markets.  It is distributed around the world with a strong readership in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Asia.   Euromoney.com's users include commercial and investment banks, institutional investors, hedge funds, governments, corporations, consultancy firms, lawyers and stock and derivatives exchanges. More than 160,000 people read Euromoney Magazine every month and over 250,000 people are registered users of Euromoney.com.

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