Bank of Montreal - Re Acquisition

RNS Number:1572K
Bank of Montreal
7 May 2000


Bank of Montreal Acquires 12 Ontario Branches from TD Financial Group

KITCHENER, ONT, May 7, 2000 - Bank of Montreal announced today it will purchase
12 Ontario branches and substantially all of their branch business from TD
Financial Group. The total value of the transaction is $50 million. The
agreement has received regulatory approval.

"Bank of Montreal is delighted to increase its customer base in key and growing
markets like Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Elmira and Port Hope," said Maurice
Hudon, Executive Vice-President, Ontario Division, Bank of Montreal. This
purchase helps us build on our strong position in personal and commercial
banking in growth markets - a key component of our strategy for growth." 

Mr. Hudon also welcomed the staff at the branches to Bank of Montreal. "All
active TD Bank and Canada Trust staff at these branches will be offered
positions with Bank of Montreal," said Mr. Hudon. " Customers will continue to
be served by the same familiar faces as these locations become Bank of Montreal
branches."

The transaction involves nearly $1.4 billion in funds under administration,
approximately 120,000 customers, and 186 employees at six TD Bank and six Canada
Trust branches. The transaction excludes certain products and services such as
mutual funds and credit card accounts.

The agreement was announced in Kitchener today, after bank staff from both TD
Bank/Canada Trust and Bank of Montreal were informed, The branches will become
Bank of Montreal locations over the next few months, with all the changeovers
complete by September.

In Kitchener-Waterloo, Bank of Montreal will purchase the Eastwood Square,
Fairway & Wilson, and Highland Hills TD Bank branches, and the Forest Hill, Glen
Forrest, and Weber & Lincoln Canada Trust branches. The bank will also buy the
Canada Trust branch in Elmira and the TD Bank branch in Port Hope. In Cambridge,
it will acquire the King & Westminster and Queen & Guelph TD Bank branches,
along with the Main St. and St. Andrews Canada Trust branches.

Bank of Montreal, Canada's first bank, is a highly diversified financial
services institution. The bank operates over 30 lines of business within its
group of companies which include Chicago-based Harris Bank, a major U.S. Midwest
financial institution and Nesbitt Burns, one of Canada's largest full-service
investment firms. Bank of Montreal has an equity position in, and an alliance
with, Grupo Financiero Bancomer, a leading Mexican retail bank.

Contacts:
Joe Barbera, [phone]
Rick Kuwayti, [phone]

Internet: http://www.bmo.com
    

Note:
A photograph will be available at 5:00 p.m. today on the Canadian Press Photo
Network.


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