BMO Financial Group 2017 Environmental, Social and Governance Report and Public Accountability Statement Now Available Online

TORONTO and CHICAGO, Feb. 9, 2018 /CNW/ - BMO Financial Group has published its 2017 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report. The report can be downloaded at https://www.bmo.com/cr/files/BMO_ESG_PAS2017en.pdf.

The 2017 ESG Report outlines the most material environmental, social and governance issues as identified by our stakeholders and the bank. The report also includes the Public Accountability Statements for Bank of Montreal, Bank of Montreal Mortgage Corporation, BMO Life Assurance Company and BMO Life Insurance Company.

"Our interests have always been strongly aligned with the interests of our stakeholders," said Simon Fish, General Counsel for BMO Financial Group and Chair of BMO's Sustainability Council. "In 2017, we mobilized our workforce to listen closely to our stakeholders' concerns and to embrace the differences that have helped us remain a responsive and caring corporate citizen."

BMO's achievements in 2017 include:

• Maintained Carbon Neutrality across the enterprise since 2010 and set a new five year target to reduce absolute carbon emissions by 15% using 2016 as a baseline.
• Aligned our material ESG issues with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and highlighted the five SDGs which we believe BMO can have the greatest impact.
• Participated in $6.4 billion of renewable energy equity and debt financing and provided $4.2 billion of loan commitments to renewable entities and renewable projects.
• Established our Vision2020 goals for diverse workforce representation to help us maintain our industry-leading position.
• Donated $62.3 million to registered charities and non-profit organizations in Canada and the United States.

Our ESG disclosure contributed to BMO's exceptional standing on numerous rankings and indices, including:

• Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index (2017/18) for the 13th year in a row
• 2017 Thomson Reuters/S-Network ESG Best Practices Award (ranking highest financial institution worldwide)
• Bloomberg Financial Services Gender-Equality Index (2018) for the third year in a row

SOURCE BMO Financial Group

For further information: News Media Enquiries: Ralph Marranca, Toronto, [e-mail], [phone]; Valerie Doucet, Montreal, [e-mail], [phone], Internet:www.bmo.com, Twitter: @BMOmedia