News Releases

NEW YORK, NEW YORK--(Marketwire - Sept. 6, 2011) - BMO Capital Markets, the investment and corporate banking arm of BMO Financial Group (NYSE:BMO)(TSX:BMO), today announced a number of hires to expand and enhance the firm's coverage of financial institutions.

"We are pleased to increase our coverage of financial clients across the U.S. We are hiring experts in insurance and financial services broadly and are adding M&A-focused resources in order to bring all of BMO's products and expertise to this essential sector," said Perry Hoffmeister, Head of U.S. Investment & Corporate Banking, BMO Capital Markets.

To this end, James MacNaughton, a 30-year investment banking veteran, has joined the firm as Vice Chair of U.S. Investment and Corporate Banking. The New York-based Financial Institutions Group (FIG) is also being expanded to include a sector focused on Insurance; this sector will be led by Scott Littlejohn, who has joined as Managing Director & Head of U.S. Insurance Investment Banking. Also joining the firm in the Insurance sector is Phil Enan, who has been appointed Vice President. Ariel Walsh, a BMO veteran, is also relocating to New York to focus exclusively on FIG M&A across North America.

"Jim has a tremendous depth of capital markets and M&A experience in the financial institutions sector in insurance, banks, diversified financials, securities firms, asset management and securities exchanges," said Mr. Hoffmeister. "Given his extensive background with Financial Institutions, Jim will mostly be working with clients in this industry; but all of us will be able to draw on his experience, leadership and extensive relationships.

"The U.S. insurance industry represents a new sector for us with great potential. Scott Littlejohn's intimate knowledge of the industry, and his almost 20 years of experience in bringing investment and corporate banking services to the insurance sector, make him the ideal person to run this business," added Mr. Hoffmeister. "We believe that our focus on bringing universal banking services to underserved mid-cap insurance companies will be well received by clients. We look forward to providing world class service to these clients."

Mr. MacNaughton, Mr. Littlejohn and Mr. Walsh will be working closely with Erik Van Nispen, head of BMO's U.S. Financial Institutions Group as well as with BMO's Canadian FIG team, led by Brad Hardie. BMO's new U.S. insurance practice will complement the Firm's existing areas of focus, including Market Structure, Specialty Finance, Financial Technology and Asset Management.

Prior to joining BMO, Mr. MacNaughton was a Senior Advisor to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Previous to that, he was at Rothschild Inc. from 2001 to 2008, initially as Head of the North American Financial Institutions Group and subsequently as a Senior Advisor. He also spent more than 20 years at Salomon Brothers. During his long and successful career there, he had several leadership roles including Head of Global Financial Institutions M&A, head of North American FIG and head of Global Insurance and Asset Management Investment Banking. Mr. MacNaughton serves on several corporate and non-profit boards of directors, and is a member of the International Insurance Society. He is a native of Des Moines, Iowa and holds an MBA and a B.A. from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Mr. Littlejohn joins BMO from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he was a Managing Director in their Insurance Investment & Corporate Banking group. Prior to the acquisition of Merrill Lynch, he headed Bank of America's corporate and investment banking Insurance practice. Prior to this, he spent 15 years at Citigroup / Salomon Brothers. Mr. Littlejohn holds an MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business, and an undergraduate degree in economics from Lafayette College.

Mr. Walsh joined BMO Capital Markets in 2001 and is currently a Director in the M&A group. Mr. Walsh has significant transaction experience in a wide range of public and private M&A assignments, with a focus on Financial Institutions. Prior to joining BMO, Ariel worked at Salomon Smith Barney. Mr. Walsh has a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree with distinction from the University of Toronto specializing in finance and economics.

Mr. Enan has over 10 years of insurance and capital markets experience and comes to BMO from Piper Jaffray, where he was a Vice President in that company's Financial Institutions group. Mr. Enan earned an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Business, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Stanford University.

About BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets is a leading, full-service North American financial services provider, with nearly 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:BMO)(TSX:BMO), one of the largest diversified financial services providers in North America with US$499 billion total assets and more than 47,000 employees as at July 31, 2011.