News Releases

• New additions in Business Services & Media, Food, Consumer & Retail, Healthcare and M&A continue to strengthen BMO Capital Markets' U.S. Investment & Corporate Banking Business
• BMO Capital Markets has hired more than 450 employees worldwide since last year

NEW YORK and CHICAGO, July 29, 2010 – BMO Capital Markets, the investment and corporate banking arm of BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO), has hired five senior professionals in key areas of its U.S. business, including M&A, Business Services & Media, Food, Consumer & Retail and Healthcare.

Alexander (Sandy) Ayer joins BMO Capital Markets as a Managing Director in the M&A group; Noam Cohen joins as Managing Director in the Food, Consumer & Retail group; Les Gorman joins as Managing Director and Senior Client Coverage Officer; Paul Griffin joins as Managing Director in the Business Services & Media unit and David Parrot joins as a Managing Director in the Healthcare team. These latest appointments mark BMO Capital Markets' continued expansion, which includes more than 450 new employees worldwide since last year, 112 of them in the United States.

"The continuing expansion of our U.S. Investment and Corporate Banking Group demonstrates the firm's commitment to build on our competitive and differentiated position as a leading North American investment bank," said Perry Hoffmeister, Head of U.S. Investment & Corporate Banking, BMO Capital Markets. "These new professionals have the sector knowledge, extensive client relationships and transaction experience to provide our clients best-in-class capabilities. They reinforce our expertise in some of the key industry sectors where we are focused. They join a seasoned team at BMO that specializes in delivering a full-suite of banking products and capital markets services to mid-cap and growth clients."

Sandy Ayer, based in New York, reports to Scott Humphrey, Head of U.S. M&A. Mr. Ayer will also work closely with Paul Hawkinson, Head of the Industrials coverage group. Mr. Ayer brings more than 16 years of deal experience, as well as extensive strategic advisory experience from both JP Morgan and Bear Stearns. He served as a senior member of JP Morgan's Global M&A group with a focus on the industrial sector. He was also one of the two senior partners responsible for the Transportation, Logistics and Automotive Group at Bear Stearns. Mr. Ayer's background includes participation in numerous public and private mergers, acquisitions and restructurings, including both stand-alone restructurings and distressed acquisitions.

Noam Cohen, based in New York, will spearhead the firm's non-food retailing business. He will report to Greg Pearlman, Head of the Food, Consumer & Retail group. Mr. Cohen will also work closely with Ken Tuchman, a 30-year Wall Street investment banking veteran who was recently appointed Vice Chair of BMO Capital Markets. Mr. Cohen has more than 23 years of investment banking experience, 18 of them focused on the retail industry. Most recently, he was Managing Director at Berenson & Company and head of its retail industry coverage efforts. Prior to joining Berenson, Mr. Cohen was a Managing Director at Merrill Lynch and head of the firm's hardlines retailing coverage efforts. He has also held a retail industry leadership role as a Managing Director at Bank of America.

Les Gorman, based in New York, previously spent 12 years at Lehman Brothers. Mr. Gorman will report to Perry Hoffmeister and serve on the U.S. Investment & Corporate Banking Management Committee. Mr. Gorman was formerly a Managing Director in Lehman's investment banking division where he focused on clients in the global media, business services and telecommunications sectors. He has led numerous M&A, financial sponsor, financing and restructuring assignments. Most recently, working in the Lehman Brothers Office of the Chairman, he had various operational and corporate responsibilities, including development of the client franchise across divisions, strategy, business development and corporate development.

Paul Griffin, based in Boston, will lead the firm's U.S. Software Investment Banking efforts. He will report to Susan Wolford, Head of the Business Services & Media group. Mr. Griffin brings more than 15 years of investment banking experience to BMO. Mr. Griffin was previously Managing Director and Head of Software Investment Banking at Cowen and Company. While at Cowen, he led the firm's client coverage and origination activities in the Enterprise Software sector across all key product areas. Prior to that, Mr. Griffin spent 10 years at CIBC World Markets where he was a founding member of the firm's U.S. Software Investment Banking team.

Based in San Francisco, David Parrot reports to Michael Neuberger, Head of the Healthcare Group. For the last year, Mr. Parrot was a Managing Director and Head of Healthcare Banking at Montgomery & Co. He was also a member of the firm's Executive Committee. Mr. Parrot has 20 years of investment banking and extensive lead transaction experience at Piper Jaffray and Swiss Bank Corp. He was one of the founding team members in Piper Jaffray's biopharmaceuticals investment banking franchise covering the U.S. biopharmaceutical sector. Mr. Parrot has completed lead transactions across multiple product areas including M&A, public equity, converts, IPOs, registered directs/PIPES, and private placements.

About BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets is a leading, full-service North American financial services provider, with more than 2,200 employees operating in 15 North American offices and 27 worldwide, offering corporate, institutional and government clients access to a complete range of investment and corporate banking products and services. BMO Capital Markets is a member of BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO), one of the largest diversified financial services providers in North America with US$384 billion total assets and 37,000 employees as at April 30, 2010.