BMO Financial Group 2018 Environmental, Social and Governance Report and Public Accountability Statement Now Available Online

TORONTO and CHICAGO, Dec. 20, 2018 /CNW/ - BMO Financial Group has published its 2018 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report. The report can be downloaded at https://corporate-responsibility.bmo.com/reports/.

The 2018 ESG Report provides BMO's environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure, focused on issues identified by our stakeholders as most affecting our sustainability. The report also includes the Public Accountability Statements for Bank of Montreal and its applicable subsidiaries: Bank of Montreal Mortgage Corporation, BMO Life Assurance Company and BMO Life Insurance Company.

"Sustainability is a driver of innovation and opportunity for BMO," said Simon Fish, General Counsel for BMO Financial Group and Chair of BMO's Sustainability Council. "Through ongoing engagement with our investors and other stakeholders, our approach to sustainability has allowed us to identify shared interests and to build trust."

Highlights of our 2018 ESG Report include:

• Assisting our clients in navigating the global transition to a lower carbon economy, including the underwriting of more than US$6.3 billion in green or sustainable bonds
• Participating in $6.8 billion of renewable energy equity and debt financing and providing $3.9 billion of loan commitments to renewable energy entities and projects
• Enhancing our disclosures on climate change risks and opportunities, including a new Appendix on climate change and an index aligning our disclosure with the recommendations of Financial Stability Board's Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD)
• Donating $63.5 million to registered charities and non-profit organizations in Canada and the United States

In 2018, BMO's ESG disclosure contributed to the company's standing on numerous rankings, including:

• Ethisphere Institute's list of the 2018 World's Most Ethical Companies
• Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index (2018/19) for the 14th year in a row
• Bloomberg Financial Services Gender-Equality Index (2018) for the third year in a row
• Thomson Reuters Global Diversity & Inclusion Index (2018) for the second consecutive year (and the only Canadian Bank in the top 25 companies)

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 $774 billion as of October 31, 2018, 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

Media Contacts: Julie Smithers, Toronto, [e-mail], 416.867.3996