BMO Financial
Group Continues to Build on North American Advantages
MONTREAL, April
9, 2003 - BMO Financial Group will continue to build on its North
American advantages, Chairman and CEO Tony Comper said today in a presentation
to the National Bank Financial Canadian Bank CEO Conference.
He reaffirmed BMO's
transnational strategy of investing in its core Canadian franchise,
while expanding in the United States. As an example, Comper pointed
to the Investment Banking Group's recent agreement to acquire New York-based
Gerard Klauer Mattison, BMO's eleventh U.S. acquisition since 1999.
Comper highlighted
the organization's continuing solid performance, particularly in personal
and commercial banking (P&C) on both sides of the border.
"Our Canadian
and U.S. personal and commercial operations drove first-quarter growth,"
he said. "We outperformed our Canadian peers in revenue growth
and balance sheet growth, in both loans and deposits. We believe these
core businesses will support continued solid performance for BMO as
our more market-sensitive businesses await the lift that will come with
a sustained market turnaround."
BMO has led its
Canadian peer group in P&C revenue growth for the past two quarters,
while implementing an aggressive yet disciplined strategy designed to
drive revenues higher. Notable ongoing competitive advantages include
BMO's top-tier credit quality and small business banking, where the
organization continues to close in on its target to be number one in
market share for loans up to $5 million in Canada.
"The growth
story is even more positive in U.S. retail and business banking,"
said Comper. "With major U.S. banks now targeting Chicagoland,
our competitive advantages include the well-entrenched, very well located
Harris distribution network and the excellent reputation of the Harris
brand in the local market. Expansion plans are well under way to add
50 branches to Harris Bank's 145-branch distribution network."
Comper also provided
what he referred to as an "apples-to-apples" comparison with
the competition to show a more complete picture of BMO's retail and
business banking operations in the U.S., by combining the organization's
Chicagoland banking and Harris Nesbitt mid-market operations.
"The addition
of our Harris Nesbitt mid-market lending and cash management businesses
to the Chicagoland numbers would, in effect, triple net income from
our U.S. retail and business banking results for 2002, while the productivity
ratio improves to about 60 per cent from 77.7 per cent. From this perspective,
U.S. net income from retail and business banking in 2002 increases to
about 60 per cent from about 20 per cent," he said.
In response to an
announcement last week that a Canadian competitor was taking a large
goodwill write-down, Comper clarified BMO's position on the level of
goodwill carried by the organization.
"We are comfortable
with the level of goodwill on our books. We review goodwill on a regular
basis for each reporting unit, and the book value remains appropriate
as it is exceeded by market value," said Comper. "Also, as
markets weakened following some acquisitions, we revised our business
model to achieve greater cost efficiencies and believe we are well positioned
for growth when conditions improve."
Established in 1817
as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO) is a highly
diversified financial services organization. With average assets of
$259 billion as at January 31, 2003 and more than 34,000 employees,
BMO provides a broad range of retail banking, wealth management and
investment banking products and solutions.
BMO Financial Group
serves clients across Canada and the United States through its Canadian
retail arm BMO Bank of Montreal, Chicago-based Harris Bank, a major
U.S. mid-west financial services organization which also has wealth
management offices across the United States, and BMO Nesbitt Burns,
one of Canada's leading full-service investment firms.
A full transcript
of Comper's speech may be found at www.bmo.com/investorrelations.
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Contacts:
Media Relations:
Ron Monet, Montreal, (514) 877-1101
Ian Blair, Toronto, (416) 867-3996
Investor Relations:
Susan Payne, Toronto, (416) 867-6656
Lynn Inglis, Toronto, (416) 867-5452
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