| BMO
Capital Markets Establishes a Foreign Exchange Sales & Trading
Desk in London, England TORONTO and LONDON, ENGLAND, October 2, 2007 – BMO Capital Markets, the investment and corporate banking arm of BMO Financial Group (TSX, NYSE: BMO), announced today it has established a foreign exchange sales and trading desk in London, England, a move that will further bolster BMO’s dominant position in the Canadian-dollar foreign exchange market. The new office provides BMO’s growing base of FX clients with improved access to information and increased liquidity during the European session. To lead this effort, BMO has appointed Lorne Gavsie as Director, Sales & Trading in London. Mr. Gavsie’s primary role will be to build a platform in Europe focused on the Canadian dollar and active order management for clients. The firm has also hired Derek Shewring and Simon Watkins, two leading European FX professionals, to build upon BMO’s new on the ground European FX desk capabilities. Mr. Shewring is named Director & Senior Trader and will be responsible for trading spot FX, executing client transactions and risk management on behalf of BMO. Mr. Watkins is appointed Vice-President, Sales & Trading and will have a dual role focused on both marketing and trading. “London is an important market for us as we continue to build
our leadership presence in the global foreign exchange market,” said
Jamie Thorsen, Global Head of Foreign Exchange Products & China Capital
Markets for BMO Capital Markets. “Lorne, Derek and Simon bring
tremendous experience to the group and they will be instrumental in our
efforts to continue to grow the FX business.” Mr. Shewring joins BMO most recently from the buy-side, where he managed the execution and marketing efforts for C-View, a large UK-based fund. He brings more than 30 years of FX Trading experience to BMO, having held the previous position of Chief Dealer with both RBC Capital Markets and Bank of America. Mr. Watkins brings more than 15 years of FX experience to BMO having spent the bulk of his career on the London FX Forward desk at TD Securities. His deep knowledge of the Canadian dollar forward market and strong technical background adds immediate value to the BMO FX team. “We plan to leverage Lorne and his team’s extensive expertise in this area in Europe,” said Mr. Askari. “This is a natural progression of our globally recognized position as a leader in the Canadian dollar and is in response to growing demand for niche Canadian dollar expertise and liquidity in Europe. "BMO Capital Markets is optimistic about the growth potential that we see in this market and additional FX professionals may be added in the U.K. as business opportunities arise,” Mr. Askari added. Experts to Talk about the Canadian Dollar About BMO Capital
Markets’ Foreign Exchange Group About BMO Capital Markets - 30 - For Media Enquiries Kim Hanson, Toronto, kim.hanson@bmo.com,
(416) 867-3996 |