Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley Dedicates BMO Capital Markets' New Trading Floor

- BMO Capital Markets unveils new, state-of-the-art trading facility in Chicago

- BMO and Harris have a long history in supporting Chicago's growth: Mayor Daley

CHICAGO, April 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - BMO Capital Markets, one of Chicago's largest investment banking employers, welcomed Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley to its Chicago office this morning, where he cut the ribbon on BMO's new, state-of-the-art trading floor.

At 16,000 square-feet, the new trading floor is one of BMO's largest. It is located at 115 South LaSalle, in the heart of the city's financial district. The trading floor houses 145 employees, who collectively make thousands of trades daily with daily trading volumes in excess of $40 billion. The facility features nearly 520 monitors and a phone system that can handle more than 5,000 calls per day. More than 140 miles of copper wire were laid down during the refurbishment - equivalent to the distance from Chicago to Madison, WI.

"We are extremely excited about the investments we've made to enhance our ability to deliver a broad array of investment and corporate banking services to companies and institutions that represent the lifeblood of Chicago and the Midwest," said Tom Milroy, Chief Executive Officer, BMO Capital Markets. Mr. Milroy was joined by Ellen Costello, President and CEO of Harris, BMO's U.S. retail and commercial banking arm, as well as several employees, to greet Mayor Daley, who made a dedication to the floor.

"I'd like to thank BMO Capital Markets and Harris on your long-term commitment and continued dedication to our City," said Mayor Daley. "I don't know of any other city in the nation where the relationship between government and business is stronger or more beneficial and BMO and Harris have a long history in supporting Chicago's growth in this market."

With more than 640 investment and corporate banking employees in Chicago, BMO Capital Markets is dedicated to supporting a wide range of local industries including food & consumer and the industrials sector. "Chicago is at the center of regional growth in industries which include agriculture and manufacturing. These are sectors that will require financing solutions as they recover from the recession," said Mr. Milroy.

"As a leader in public finance, BMO Capital Markets is committed to providing comprehensive debt structuring, underwriting, financial and infrastructure advisory services to all types of U.S. Municipal and not-for-profit groups including state and local governments, public and private educational institutions, healthcare institutions, public power, as well as port and transportation sectors," he added.

Parent company BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO) and Harris have a long history in supporting Chicago's growth, dating back to 1882 when Harris was founded as a bond trading firm. Today, BMO has become one of the largest financial services providers to retail, wealth management and investment and corporate banking clients in the Midwest and across North America.

BMO Capital Markets' expertise in the bond market is reflected in the leading solutions many of its dedicated public finance professionals offer for all types of municipalities and infrastructure projects. The firm currently ranks as the # 1 senior managing underwriter of Illinois taxable and Build America Bonds and Build America Bonds for Higher Education. BMO Capital Markets is among the top three underwriters of taxable municipal issues in the U.S.

About BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets is a leading, full-service North American financial services provider, with over 2,200 employees operating in 15 North American offices and 28 worldwide, offering corporate, institutional and government clients access to a complete range of investment and corporate banking products and services. BMO Capital Markets is a member of BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO), one of the largest diversified financial services providers in North America with US$373 billion total assets and more than 36,000 employees as at January 31, 2010.

About Harris

Harris is an integrated financial service organization providing more than 1.2 million personal, business and corporate clients with banking, lending, investing and wealth management solutions. The organization is a member of the BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO), which also provides corporate and investment banking services in the U.S. under the BMO Capital Markets name.

A photo of Mayor Daley on BMO's trading floor will be available on PR Newswire and Canada Newswire later today.

/NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited members of the media/

SOURCE BMO Financial Group