No common shares were repurchased under the Bank's recently expired normal course issuer bid. There were 551,914,804 Bank of Montreal common shares issued and outstanding as at November 16, 2009, and the public float was 551,321,713 common shares. The average daily trading volume for the 6 months ended October 31, 2009, and the daily maximum number of shares available for purchase, calculated pursuant to the rules of the Toronto Stock Exchange for the purposes of the bid, was 2,174,537 and 543,634 shares, respectively.

BMO Financial Group's Tier 1 capital ratio was 11.71 per cent as at July 31, 2009. The normal course issuer bid is being renewed as part of the Bank's capital management strategy.

SOURCE: BMO Bank of Montreal

SOURCE: BMO Financial Group

For Media Relations Enquiries: Ralph Marranca, Toronto, (416) 867-3996,
ralph.marranca@bmo.com; Ronald Monet, Montreal, (514) 877-1873, ronald.monet@bmo.com;
For Investor Relations Enquiries: Steven Bonin, Toronto, (416) 867-5452,
steven.bonin@bmo.com; Andrew Chin, Toronto, (416) 867-7019, andrew.chin@bmo.com,
Internet: www.bmo.com

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SOURCE: BMO Bank of Montreal

SOURCE: BMO Financial Group

Internet: www.bmo.com

Like other banks, Bank of Montreal also saw big gains from its trading segment, which saw net income rise 30% from the year ago period. Corporate banking also improved.

Weakness was still evident in the P&C U.S. segment where revenues fell 0.5% from a year ago. While there was improvement due to gains on the sale of mortgages, there were higher levels of impaired loans.

The company is still allotting for credit losses of $417 million, comprised of $357 million of specific provisions and $60 million in general allowance which is down from the year ago period which saw $484 million allotted, including $434 million in specific provisions.

Value Fundamentals

Bank of Montreal still has attractive value characteristics. It is trading with a forward P/E of 13.04 and has a price-to-book ratio of 1.53. It is rewarding shareholders with a hefty dividend, currently yielding 5.40%. The company is now a Zacks #1 Rank (buy) stock.

Read the Jul 2 article.

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