News Releases

Harris Names Ray Whitacre, Senior Vice President and Market Executive for Commercial Mid-Market, Harris Community Banking

CHICAGO, August 17, 2007 – Harris today announced that Ray Whitacre has been named senior vice president and market executive for Harris Community Banking's Commercial Mid-Market group, reporting to Peter McNitt, vice chairman, Harris Bankcorp, Inc. and head of Harris' Business Banking Division.

In his role, Whitacre has responsibility for leading the bank's U.S. commercial and institutional banking business. Whitacre joined Harris and BMO Financial Group in 1986 and has held increasingly senior positions throughout the organization. He was most recently a managing director in BMO Capital Market's Commercial and Industrial group , where he worked extensively with publicly-held, equity sponsor-owned and privately-held companies. He focused on raising public and private equity, M&A engagements, structured finance, and led syndicated loan transactions for clients and prospects.

"The Commercial Mid-Market segment is an important component of our business banking offering that has earned very strong customer loyalty and satisfaction scores and has a market leader position in our traditional Chicago footprint ," said McNitt. "I am thrilled to have Ray join our team as his strengths and skills are a perfect match to lead this important segment of our business."

"I spent the first 10 years of my career in the Commercial Mid-Market and I am excited about returning to lead the business," added Whitacre.

Whitacre has a bachelor's of science degree in Finance from Miami University. He also holds his Series 7 and 63 securities lice nses.

About Harris

Harris is an integrated financial service organization providing more than 1 million personal, business and corporate clients with banking, lending, investing and wealth management solutions. The organization is a member of the BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO), which also provides corporate and investment banking services in the U.S. under the BMO Capital Markets name.

Harris^® is a trade name used by various financial service subsidiaries of Harris Financial Corp. Banking products and services are provided by Harris N.A., The Harris Bank, N.A. and their bank affiliates. Members FDIC.

Brokerage products are offered through Harris Investor Services, Inc. (HIS), a registered broker/dealer, member FINRA/SIPC, and SEC registered investment adviser. Insurance and annuities are offered through Harris Bancorp Insurance Services, Inc. (HBIS). Securities are provided by BMO Capital Markets Corp. (BMOCM), a registered broker dealer and member NYSE, FINRA and SIPC. HIS, HBIS and BMOCM are affiliated companies and are wholly owned subsidiaries of Harris Financial Corp. Products offered by HIS, HBIS and BMOCM are 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 to any bank loan or service. Financial planning and investment advisory services are provided by Sullivan, Bruyette, Speros & Blayney, Inc., an SEC registered investment adviser. Family Office Services are provided by Harris myCFO, Inc. Investment advisory services are offered by Harris myCFO Investment Advisory Services LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser and wholly-owned subsidiary of Harris myCFO, Inc. Not all products and services are offered in every state and/or location.