Bank of Montreal - Acquisition

RNS Number:3274M
Bank of Montreal
15 June 2000

Bank of Montreal Expands North American Operations with U.S. Direct Brokerage
Acquisition

TORONTO, June 15, 2000 - The Bank of Montreal Group of Companies is further
expanding its wealth management operations in the United States by acquiring
Seattle-based direct brokerage firm Freeman Welwood. The transaction is valued
at $Cdn 140 million ($US 92.5 million) and is subject to regulatory approval.

"The acquisition of Freeman Welwood significantly increases our direct brokerage
capabilities in the U.S. market and provides the scale to further expand our
electronic and full-service brokerages and private banking businesses in the
United States," said Tony Comper, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bank of
Montreal Group of Companies. "Freeman Welwood is a respected, well-run and
profitable company that has shown consistent growth, making it an excellent
addition to the wealth management operations of Harris Bank and Bank of
Montreal."

The purchase of Freeman Welwood, in addition to last year's acquisition of a
Chicago-based direct brokerage now known as Harris InvestorLine and this year's
acquisition of Florida-based Village Banc of Naples, is part of Bank of
Montreal's aggressive North American growth strategy to rapidly expand its
wealth management lines of business. Freeman Welwood adds 90,000 accounts to
the Bank's direct brokerage client base in the U.S. and has $Cdn 7 billion ($US
4.5 billion) in assets under administration.

Freeman Welwood will be integrated with Harris InvestorLine direct brokerage
which has 70,000 accounts and $Cdn 6 billion ($US 4 billion) in assets. There
will also be a close relationship with Bank of Montreal's Canadian direct
brokerage, BMO InvestorLine, which has 250,000 accounts and $Cdn 8 billion ($US
5.5 billion) in assets under management, bringing Bank of Montreal's total North
American electronic investing client base to over 400,000 accounts.  Combined,
Bank of Montreal and Harris Bank have over seven million retail clients in North
America.

Established in 1972 in Seattle, Freeman Welwood was the first true discount
brokerage in the U.S. Northwest. It has an active, affluent and loyal investor
clientele and is registered in 50 states. Freeman Welwood has grown from one
office in Seattle, to eleven offices, including nine branch offices in San
Francisco, Denver, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City. Honolulu, Tacoma, Bellevue
and Spokane. There is also a call centre that operates seven days a week. Since
the launch of online trading in 1997, over 60% of the form's order flow is via
the Internet.

"Freeman Welwood will allow us to implement an integrated approach to investing
for our clients and it is the next step in building on our successes in affluent
wealth management markets in the U.S.," said Gilles Ouellette, President, Bank
of Montreal Private Client Group. "Freeman Welwood gives us a well established
platform to provide direct investing and allows us to move Harris Private
Banking professionals into key locations in the Northwest and West Coast to
provide a full suite of wealth management services."

Freeman Welwood will be part of Bank of Montreal's Private Client Group, which
has total assets under administration of $Cdn 222 billion. The Private Client
Group brings together all of the bank's wealth management services, including
retail investment products, full service investing and direct brokerage, private
banking and institutional money management, both in Canada and the United
States. The Private Client Group is focused on wealth management, which
represents the fastest growing area in the financial services category. It is a
cornerstone to providing integrated banking and financial services to meet
rapidly changing client needs.

Bank of. Montreal, Canada's first bank, is a highly diversified financial
services institution. Subsidiaries of the bank include BMO Nesbitt Burns, one of
Canada's largest full-service investment firms and Chicago-based Harris Bank, a
major U.S. mid-west financial institution.
                              
Contacts: 
Ian Blair, Toronto, [phone] 
Ron Monet, Montreal, [phone]
Laurte Grant, Vancouver, [phone] 
Maeve Kiley, Chicago, [phone]
John Aiken, Investor Relations, [phone]

Internet: http://www.bmo.com

END

ACQKGGMVDKVGGZM