News Releases

Harris names president for Indiana Region
John Rudy to lead Harris expansion outside of Chicagoland base

CHICAGO, December 16, 2004 – Harris is pleased to announce that John Rudy is named Regional President for the Community Banking Indiana Region, responsible for leading the growth and development of Harris in this new market.

In October, Harris announced its intent to acquire Mercantile Bancorp, Inc., based in Hammond, Ind. The transaction is expected to close around year end, pending regulatory approval.

Rudy will be charged with overseeing the successful integration of Mercantile into Harris, as well as guiding business development strategy as Harris makes its biggest foray into Northwest Indiana with the addition of 19 banking locations. Harris already has more than 40 ATMs in Northwest Indiana through its relationship with Speedway gas stations.

Rudy joined Harris in 1981 and has held a variety of roles including Credit Administration, Commercial Relationship Manager and Small Business Product Manager, among others. Most recently, he has served as Senior Commercial Credit Officer for Harris Community Banking and Harris Private Bank. He has strong family ties to the Northwest Indiana community, holds a bachelor's degree from Valparaiso University and an MBA from DePaul University.

"We are pleased to have someone with John's perspective – his depth of knowledge about Harris as well as his strong understanding of what it will take to grow our business in this market," said Yasmin Bates, Executive Vice President and head of the Harris Community Banking South Division. "John has considerable understanding of the importance of customer service given his long career with us and we are confident he will successfully guide our transition into Northwest Indiana."

"I am excited to be leading the effort to bring Harris products and services to customers in Northwest Indiana," Rudy said. "I'm also looking forward to working with the great team at Mercantile."

Harris is 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. The community banking network of Harris is one of the largest in Illinois, with 170 full-service locations throughout Chicagoland and more than 450 Harris ATMs. For more information, please visit www.harrisbank.com .

Harris is a trademark used by various financial service providers in the BMO Finan cial Group, a marketing name used by Bank of Montreal. Banking products and services are provided by Harris N.A. and The Harris Bank N.A. Members FDIC. Insurance and annuities are offered through Harris Bancorp Insurance Services, Inc (HBIS). Securities are provided by Harris Nesbitt Corp (HNC), a registered broker dealer, member NYSE, FINRA and SIPC and Harrisdirect LLC, a registered broker dealer, member FINRA and SIPC. HBIS, HNC and Harrisdirect are wholly owned subsidiaries of Harris Financial Corp. Products offered by HBIS, HNC and Harrisdirectare Not Insured by the FDIC or any Federal Government Agency, Not a Deposit of or Guaranteed by Any Bank or Bank Affiliate, May Lose Value. The purchase of insurance or an annuity is not a condition on any bank loan or service. Financial planning and investment advisory services are provided by Sullivan, Bruyette, Speros & Blayney, Inc., an SEC registered investment advisor. Family office services are provided by Harris myCFO, Inc. Investment advisory services are also offered by Harris myCFO Investment Advisory Services LLC, an SEC registered investment advisor and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Harris myCFO, Inc. Not all products and services are offered in every state and/or location.