News Releases
Speaking at Scotia Capital's Financials Summit 2007 Conference, Bill Downe, President and Chief Executive Officer of BMO Financial Group, stated that the company is focusing more sharply on customer service and growth in its core businesses.
BMO WELL-POSITIONED FOR CURRENT ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT
In referring to comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who stated in a recent speech that delinquency rates for sub-prime mortgages with adjustable rates rose to about 13.5% in June, Mr. Downe stressed, “Harris does not originate sub-prime and has very little direct retail exposure with sub-prime characteristics. Harris's overall delinquency rate was 0.4% in June.”
NEW PEOPLE
Commenting on the major renewal of management of BMO's Canadian retail banking arm, Mr. Downe said, “The new executive team has considerable line experience, and throughout the organization, managers are closer to the customers, and decision-making is closer to the front line. More than a third of the 28 district heads are new appointments.”
NEW AND GREENER BRANCHES
“Our branch network is key to our strategy. We will concentrate our investment spending on our branch network in high growth areas. We're also going “green” by deploying emission free electricity under a contract that will ultimately support up to 53 locations. This should position BMO as the premier financial institution in Canada on Bullfrog Power's green index,” said Mr. Downe.
FREQUENT NEW AND BETTER OFFERS
“Another program designed to take share is our loyalty program that rewards AIR MILES Collectors for all of their debit card transactions. We are confident that this will build deposits. For example, in July, the first full month since the launch, account openings were up 25% over the prior year,” added Mr. Downe.
FREEING UP STAFF TO SPEND MORE TIME WITH CUSTOMERS
Mr. Downe said, “We've put new tools in the hands of our bankers, which are returning at least 40 minutes per day to bankers on the front line.”
CANADIAN PERSONAL AND COMMERCIAL POSTING RECORD EARNINGS
BMO's Canadian personal and commercial banking business posted record earnings of $350 million in the third quarter, up 14% over a year ago, excluding the IPO gain related to MasterCard International and tax recoveries. Cash productivity was 53.3%, also a record. Year over year, revenue in commercial banking grew almost 7%, loans grew 7.7%, and deposits grew 9.6% as share increased strongly for the second quarter in a row, rising 56 basis points year over year.
BRANCH-ORIGINATED SALES STRATEGY PAYING OFF
Mr. Downe noted that BMO's emphasis on branch-originated sales is paying-off in its cards business, where core revenues grew 13% year over year. Year to date, BMO has seen new cardholders rise by 40% and the number of applications coming from the branches has increased by 118%. Mr. Downe said BMO is looking for the best way to distribute other products through its branches. “In our mortgage business, we exited the broker channel, which has low spread and fewer cross-sell opportunities. We are hiring more mortgage specialists. We expect to increase volumes and regain lost share – but with a much higher margin, “added Mr. Downe.
BMO EXPERIENCING BROAD-BASED MOMENTUM
Commenting on the performance of the Private Client Group, Mr. Downe stated, “The Private Client Group is delivering outstanding results. PCG's efficiency is top decile, with a cash productivity ratio of 68.4%.”
BMO Capital Markets reported net income of $196 million in the third quarter. “Excluding the impact of the commodities losses, these are exceptional results,” said Mr. Downe. Adjusted for those losses, earnings grew 45% from a year ago to $293 million.
IMPROVING HARRIS BANK'S PERFORMANCE
BMO's U.S. personal and commercial arm Chicago-based Harris Bank has, for the past three quarters, averaging acquisition integration expenses of between $4 million and $6 million, but without those expenses, Q1, Q2, and Q3 of this year generated consecutive growth in earnings -- up19% from Q4, 2006. Mr. Downe noted, “We have a very strong franchise here with an enviable network of high quality locations, strong customer satisfaction and loyalty scores, and a breadth of service beyond the reach of smaller competitors. We see real opportunity in business banking. We can gain real leverage as we add more branches to our network.”
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Mr. Downe's presentation and the question and answer period will be archived for one year following the conference date at www.bmo.com/investorrelations
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Bank of Montreal's public communications often include written or oral forward-looking statements. Statements of this type are included in this document, and may be included in other filings with Canadian securities regulators or the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or in other communications. All such statements are made pursuant to the ‘safe harbor' provisions of, and are intended to be forward-looking statements under, the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and any applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements may involve, but are not limited to, comments with respect to our objectives and priorities for 2007 and beyond, our strategies or future actions, our targets, expectations for our financial condition or share price, and the results of or outlook for our operations or for the Canadian and U.S. economies.
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Assumptions about the future performance of the Canadian and U.S. economies and how that will affect our businesses were material factors we considered when setting our strategic priorities and objectives and in determining our financial targets, including provisions for credit losses. Key assumptions included that the Canadian and U.S. economies would expand at a moderate pace in 2007 and that inflation would remain low. We also assumed that interest rates in 2007 would remain little changed in Canada but decline in the United States and that the Canadian dollar would hold onto its value relative to the U.S. dollar. The Canadian dollar has strengthened relative to the U.S. dollar and interest rates have increased in the United States, but we believe that our other assumptions remain valid. We have continued to rely upon those assumptions and the views outlined in the following Economic Outlook in considering our ability to achieve our 2007 targets. In determining our expectations for economic growth, both broadly and in the financial services sector, we primarily consider historical economic data provided by the Canadian and U.S. governments and their agencies. Tax laws in the countries in which we operate, primarily Canada and the United States, are material factors we consider when determining our sustainable effective tax rate.