BMO Bank of Montreal is reaching out to the Canadian agricultural community with new tools designed to meet the group’s unique financial needs.

In early July, the bank launched the BMO AgriInvest Savings Account – a type of account that was previously accessible through the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

The account provides agricultural customers the opportunity to double their savings by generating matching government funds for every allowable contribution they make to the account. Each year, farmers who file a tax return can make a deposit into their AgriInvest account based on their allowable net sales, and the federal, provincial and territorial governments make a matching contribution. The cap for matching contributions is $22,500.

Making the account available through BMO allows farmers to access their accounts online banking, ABMs, telephone banking and in-branch services.

BMO announced on Friday that it is increasing the rate of interest on the account to 1.10% from 1.00%.

“An AgriInvest account with BMO is one of the simplest tools Canadian farmers can use to prepare for the ups and downs that their businesses experience,” said David Rinneard, national manager of agriculture at BMO Bank of Montreal. “With the highest interest rate, which is in most cases more than double what is available in the market, farmers can build savings and are in a better position to weather cyclical pressures on margins and cash flows.”

In a separate initiative announced in late July, BMO launched a Financial Flood Relief Program for Prairie farmers affected by this year’s heavy rainfall and devastating floods.

Under the program, BMO customers can apply for deferred principal payments and/or a waiver of new loan application or renewal fees. The program is specifically designed for producers directly affected by the flooding and those in related industries who will face cash-flow challenges in the coming months given their dependence on a productive agriculture industry. The program is available until November 30, 2011, giving producers time to market a portion of next year’s crop.

“This program will help alleviate the difficulties being faced by farmers in affected communities across Canada’s Prairies,” said Robert Hayes, senior vice president, Prairies, BMO Bank of Montreal.

IE