News Releases

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Oct. 4, 2011) - BMO Capital Markets, the investment and corporate banking arm of BMO Financial Group (TSX:BMO)(NYSE:BMO), is proud to host its 7th Annual North American Equity Through Education trading day on Tuesday, October 4, 2011.

BMO Capital Markets will once again donate the institutional equity trading commissions that it will earn, in the U.S. and Canada on October 4, to eight charitable organizations that seek to improve access to education for bright and deserving individuals.

Since the launch of the program in 2005, Equity Through Education has raised a total of CAD$9.6 million (US$8.85 million), assisting more than 2,500 individuals who have directly benefited from scholarships, bursaries and other educational programs.

BMO Capital Markets' Equity Through Education will support the following charities this year:

• Canadian Merit Scholarship Foundation (CMSF)
• The Financial Women's Association
• Foundation for the Advancement of Aboriginal Youth (FAAY)
• The Jackie Robinson Foundation
• Lime Connect
• National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation
• The Pathways to Education Program
• Women in Capital Markets Return to Bay Street program

About BMO Capital Markets' Equity Through Education Program

Equity Through Education is a charitable initiative and is aimed at creating a more diverse workplace by offering support to help people realize their educational ambitions by providing those individuals with opportunities they might not otherwise have. To learn more about Equity Through Education visit: http://www.bmocm.com/equitythrougheducation.

About BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets is a member of BMO Financial Group (TSX:BMO)(NYSE:BMO), one of the largest diversified financial services providers in North America with US$499 billion total assets and 47,000 employees as at July 31, 2011. In 2010, BMO continued to be one of North America's largest corporate donors, contributing a total of $31 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations in Canada and the United States, helping to build and sustain resilient, vital and healthy communities.