News Releases

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 13, 2012) - BMO Bank of Montreal invites customers and members of the community to celebrate the grand opening of its new full-service branch at the centre of York Mills Gardens at 1859 Leslie Street, in North York, ON.

The new open-concept branch, fuelled by clean energy from Bullfrog Power, offers customers extended banking hours seven days a week and is designed to provide a great banking experience through a variety of financial services and conveniences, including:

• A free coin counter - a simple-to-use kiosk which counts your loose change;
• A team of 10 financial professionals as well as a mortgage specialist, a financial planner and a BMO Nesbitt Burns advisor;
• Services provided in 12 languages;
• Access to commercial account and deposit services;
• Two ATMs; and
• Barrier-free access.

"The GTA represents the heart of the Canadian economy, home to the financial centre and a diverse range of Fortune 500 businesses," said Robert Kavcic, Economist, BMO Capital Markets. "North York is an important part of the Toronto economy, home to the Canadian head offices of a number of global companies, and contains some of the city's most sought-after real estate."

"With the spring home buying season underway, we encourage new and existing members of the community to come in and speak with our team about their home financing needs," said Jason Yu, Branch Manager, BMO Bank of Montreal. "BMO offers a new 10-year mortgage with a maximum 25-year amortization, which is modeled after our award-winning 5-year maximum 25-year amortization mortgage."

Mr. Yu added that choosing a shorter amortization allows Canadians to build equity sooner and save on interest costs. For example, on a $400,000 mortgage at a 5 per cent interest rate, moving from a 30-year to a 25-year amortization can save upwards of $70,000 in interest over the life of the mortgage.

In celebration of the grand opening, customers who use BMO's new Coin Counter at the Leslie & York Mills branch and deposit the funds into a new Premium Rate Savings Account before May 31 will receive a matched deposit from BMO of up to $25.

In addition, customers who open a new BMO Kids Discounted Banking Plan and deposit $25 before April 30 will receive another $25 from BMO to help kick-start their child's savings. For more information, please visit www.bmo.com/smartparentspromo.

BMO SmartSteps for Parents is part of BMO's ongoing commitment to Making Money Make Sense. Since 2009, 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.

BMO's Leslie & York Mills branch extended hours of operation are:

• 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Wednesday;
• 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Thursday and Friday;
• 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Saturday; and
• 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Sunday.

Grand Opening Details:

Who	Councillor Jaye Robinson, Ward 25 - Don Valley West
	Lily Capriotti, DVP GTA-Central
	Leea Muir, Personal Banking Area Manager
	Jason Yu, Branch Manager
	Andrew Auerbach, SVP GTA P&C Canada
What	Grand Opening Celebration - Leslie & York Mills Branch
	•	Great giveaways and a raffle draw with the chance to win an Apple iPad Third Generation
	•	Formal celebration and ribbon-cutting ceremony
	•	Family-fun activities including face painting, a balloon twister, photo opportunities with BMO the Bear and a complimentary BBQ
When	Sunday, April 15, 2012, from 12:00 noon - 3:00 p.m.
	•	Speeches and ribbon-cutting will commence at 1:30 p.m.
Where	BMO Bank of Montreal - 1859 Leslie Street, Toronto, ON M3B 2M1

About BMO Financial Group

Established in 1817 as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group is a highly-diversified North American financial services organization. With total assets of $538 billion as at January 31, 2012, and more than 47,000 employees, BMO Financial Group provides a broad range of retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and solutions.