News Releases

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Dec. 1, 2011) - BMO Financial Group announced today it is donating $50,000 to the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education (CFEE) to help launch the first annual "Talk With Our Kids About Money Day."

Gary Rabbior, President of CFEE, said the goal is to work with partners to help break down barriers and encourage conversations with kids about financial matters. "We want to designate one day during the year when parents, guardians, teachers, and employers can make a point of talking with kids about money - whether around the breakfast or dinner table, at bedtime, in a classroom, or reading and listening to news online, in print and on TV and radio."

The date for the first "Talk With Our Kids About Money Day" will be announced in early January. A website will be created to provide resources, ideas, suggestions, videos and books to help anyone who wants to teach a young person about the basics of personal finance.

"We want to thank BMO for the generous support and all the work it has already done in this area," said Mr. Rabbior.
Su McVey, Vice President, BMO Bank of Montreal, said the partnership with CFEE is a good fit.

"As part of BMO Making Money Make Sense, we issued a series of financial tips during November for Financial Literacy Month, which was established by Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. The work continues to improve the overall understanding of personal finance and we encourage others to join with us to support this important day."

Ms. McVey noted that BMO recently introduced BMO SmartSteps for Parents, an online, interactive hub to help parents educate children on money management. It's one of many accessible tools and resources to help Canadians gain clarity and make sense of their financial decisions. The resource is free and available to all Canadians and aligns with recommendations from the Federal Government task force to improve financial literacy in Canada.

BMO has introduced various tools to help Canadians stay on top of their personal finances, including BMO SmartSteps, BMO SmartSteps for Business, BMO SmartSteps for Students, BMO SmartSteps for Investing and BMO MoneyLogic.