News Releases

- Canadians hold an average of $17,490 in their TFSA, with nearly half using their account for retirement savings

- Only one-in-five Canadians are aware of the $5,500 maximum annual contribution to a TFSA

- One-in-ten TFSA holders have over-contributed in the past, costing an average of $412.50 in penalties

- BMO Asia USD Investment Grade Bond ETF provides access to a portfolio of high quality Asia bonds

- BMO Hong Kong Banks ETF provides targeted exposure to banking stocks listed on SEHK

- BMO Asia High Dividend ETF provides exposure to more than 150 high dividend paying companies

- Federal government agencies benefit from BMO's sophisticated controls and simplified spend analysis and MasterCard's best-in-class global acceptance

- More than 32,500 BMO-issued purchasing cards issued accounting for 90 per cent of the Canadian government purchasing card spend

- Contract renewal follows BMO and MasterCard's selection as the federal Government of Canada's official travel & entertainment (T&E) card provider in 2013

- Travel continues to take priority, while decreased spending on entertaining and gifts lead decline

- While 28 per cent took on debt as a result of spending in 2013, only 11 per cent expect to do the same this year

- Slower job growth, elevated debts and volatile stock market contributing to cautious consumer mindset, while lower gasoline prices offer a positive offset

- Other top concerns among the nation's business owners include identifying income options and paying too much tax

- Three-quarters of entrepreneurs are focused on making improvements in their business operations and more than half are seeking to grow their business aggressively

- Majority of entrepreneurs do not have a succession plan in place for their business