News Releases

BMO HARRIS BANK EXPANDING SBA TEAM
Partners with the SBA to Connect Small Business Owners with Needed Capital

MILWAUKEE, WI (Feb. 5, 2013) - BMO Harris Bank announced today that it has hired Ross Kohl to lead its SBA loan program efforts in Wisconsin, Arizona, St. Louis and Kansas. Kohl will be based in Wisconsin and will focus on building the bank's SBA loan portfolio by working with the small business banking and business banking groups to market and facilitate the SBA loan programs.

"BMO Harris Bank is committed to helping business owners secure the working capital needed to grow and succeed," said Margie Lawless, Senior Vice President of Small Busin ess Banking. "The addition of Ross Kohl brings a combination of vast, practical hands-on experience in commercial and Small Business Administration lending, business development, financial and credit analysis which allows BMO Harris Bank to further provide innovative financing solutions for our customers."

"The hiring of Ross Kohl is part of our overall focus to expand and increase our SBA loan activity," said Kara Kaiser, Regional President, BMO Harris Bank. "BMO Harris Bank also participates in a variety of SBA programs, including the SBA's reengineered CAPLines program designed to help small businesses meet their short-term and cyclical working capital needs. Too often businesses find it difficult to secure the necessary financing to finance contracts."

Kohl began his SBA lending career twenty years ago as a Credit Analyst with Money Store Investment Corporation.

His SBA background includes both 7(a) (and 7(a) related products) and 504 loan experience. He spent over 8 years at Southwestern Business Financing Corp, a certified development company, as Vice President Commercial Loans.
His role was primarily business development and marketing the SBA 504 loan program to banking partners as well as underwriting the loan requests.

Prior to his work at Southwestern Business Financing, Kohl was the SBA Department Manager for 1st National Bank of Arizona and a Commercial Loan Officer and SBA Banker for Wells Fargo/Norwest Bank.

Kohl received his BBA from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a MBA from Western International University.

About BMO Harris Bank
Based in Chicago, BMO Harris Bank N.A. provides a broad range of personal banking products and solutions through over 600 branches and approximately 1,300 ATMs in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Nevada, Arizona and Florida. BMO Harris Bank's commercial banking team provides a combination of sector expertise, local knowledge and mid-market focus throughout the U.S. Deposit and loan products and services provided by BMO Harris Bank N.A. Member FDIC. BMO Harris Banksm is a trade name used by BMO Harris Bank N.A. BMO Harris Bank is part of BMO Financial Group, a North American financial organization with 1,600 branches, and a retail deposit base of approximately $180 billion.