BMO supports Canada's bid to host the headquarters of the International Sustainability Standards Board

• BMO part of broad coalition of stakeholders, including leading Canadian financial services and asset management firms
• Strongly supports consistent and internationally recognized sustainability reporting standards

TORONTO, July 28, 2021 /CNW/ - BMO Financial Group (TSX: BMO) (NYSE: BMO), is proud to support Canada's bid to be the headquarters for the new International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). Proposed by the trustees of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), ISSB aims to develop a common set of consistent, comparable and reliable global sustainability standards to help meet stakeholder needs.

Canada's governments and corporate sector have a global reputation for strong business governance and sustainable business practices, making it the ideal location for ISSB. Under the terms of the proposal, the Canadian Champions for Global Sustainability Standards – a coalition of leading Canadian financial services and asset management firms, a broad cross-sector of Canada's leading business, academic, municipality and environmental stakeholder organizations and the Canadian government, facilitated by the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) – would jointly fund start-up operating expenses for the ISSB headquarters.

"As part of our purpose to Boldly Grow the Good in Business and in Life and our commitment to sustainability, and as part of our ambition to be our clients' lead partner toward a net zero world, BMO applauds Canada's bid to host the headquarters of the new international sustainability standards board. We'd also like to acknowledge CPA Canada's leadership in facilitating the coalition to this point," said Simon Fish, Chair of the BMO Climate Institute and Special Advisor to the CEO on ESG.  "A resource-rich and intensely biodiverse nation, Canada brings to this role its reputation as an active supporter of international institutions, and its expertise in standard setting and sustainability reporting, climate change and climate-related disclosure."

A decision on the ISSB headquarters is due to be announced at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), which will be held in Glasgow in November 2021.

BMO's commitment to sustainability and sustainability reporting

As one of the first major banks to sign the UN Principles for Responsible Banking, BMO is committed to aligning its business strategy with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Climate Agreement and relevant national and regional frameworks. BMO is a member of UNEP-FI and signatory of the Principles for Responsible Banking, serves as North American representative on the Steering Committee of the Equator Principles and is Chair of the Cross-Sector Biodiversity Initiative. In January 2021 the bank joined the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), a global partnership of financial institutions that work together to develop and implement a harmonized approach to assess and disclose the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with their loans and investments.

In March 2021, the BMO announced its climate ambition, including plans to build unique climate analytics capabilities to be its clients' lead partner in the transition to a net zero world. In the announcement the bank introduced the BMO Climate Institute, a multi-disciplinary organization harnessing science, analytics powered by innovative technology and industry leading expertise. As part of its commitment to Sustainable Finance, BMO has committed to deploying $300 billion in sustainable lending and underwriting by 2025.

BMO is a leader in corporate sustainability, with numerous recognitions and numerous rankings:

• Ranked 15^th on The Wall Street Journal's 2020 list of the 100 Most Sustainably Managed Companies in the World, third overall on Social Capital – BMO was the only North American bank included
• Top North American bank on Corporate Knights' 2021 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World for the second year in a row
• Ranked in the top 10 per cent of banks globally on the 2020 Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and the top North American bank
• Scored an A- on the 2020 CDP Climate Change disclosure
• Ethisphere^® Institute's 2020 list of the World's Most Ethical Companies^®
• Corporate Knights 2021 Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada
• Joint winner of Environmental Finance's 2021 Lead Manager of the Year, Social Bonds – Local Authority/Municipality category

For more information on BMO's commitment to a sustainable future, please visit the bank's Sustainability Report.  To learn more about sustainable finance at BMO click here. For BMO's climate ambition, visit our Climate page.

For more information about Canada's bid to host ISSB headquarters visit CPA Canada.

About BMO Financial Group
Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial services provider - the 8th largest bank, by assets, in North America. With total assets of $950 billion as of April 30, 2021, and a team of diverse and highly engaged employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.

SOURCE BMO Financial Group

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