News Releases

Harris Nesbitt Appoints Geoff Belsher Head of North American Mergers & Acquisitions Group

CHICAGO, August 5, 2004 – Harris Nesbitt, the U.S. investment and corporate banking arm of BMO Financial Group, announced today the appointment of Geoff Belsher as Executive Managing Director and Head of North American Mergers and Acquisitions. Based in Chicago, Mr. Belsher will also head the firm’s U.S. M&A practice and lead a team of nearly 20 professionals.

“Geoff is a seasoned professional with over 20 years of mergers and acquisitions advisory experience,” said Bill Downe, Deputy Chair, BMO Financial Group and head of the firm’s investment banking group. “Geoff’s new position allows us to enhance our U.S. M&A advisory business as well as integrate our M&A product from a North American perspective. With Geoff on board, we have strengthened our team of senior professionals leading a full product offering,” he added.

Mr. Downe pointed to a number of recent key hires by Harris Nesbitt, including Carlos Conde as Head of Equity Capital Markets; Robert Barnett and Steven Steinberg as Managing Directors of the recently expanded Commercial and Industrial Products Investment Banking Group and a team of High Yield professionals in New York.

Since joining BMO’s Canadian M&A team in Toronto in 1997, Mr. Belsher has worked on numerous significant transactions and cross-border deals. In 1999, he was appointed co-head of Canadian M&A and assumed his current position as head of Canadian M&A in September, 2001. Prior to joining BMO, Mr. Belsher spent 15 years as a corporate securities lawyer with Blake Cassels & Graydon. He holds an LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School and a B.A. from the University of Toronto.

About Harris Nesbitt
Harris Nesbitt is an investment and corporate bank offering clients access to a full range of products and services including investment and corporate banking, treasury services, market risk management, institutional investing and research. Headquartered in Chicago, Harris Nesbitt is part of Harris, an integrated financial service organization providing more than 1.5 million personal, business, corporate and institutional clients with banking, lending, investing and financial management solutions. Harris is a member of BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO). For more information, please visit www.harrisnesbitt.com.

Contacts:
Amy Yuhn, Chicago, (312) 461-2478
Kevin Windorf, New York, (212) 885-4111
Kim Hanson, Toronto, (416) 867-3996

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