BMO Financial Group will be at the forefront as Canada enters the North American century, chairman and CEO, Tony Comper said today at the organization’s 185th annual meeting in Ottawa.

“As a leading, Canadian-headquartered, Canada-U.S. bank, our growth strategy is to invest in our core Canadian franchise – which is our enduring primary strength — while expanding selectively and substantially in high-growth U.S. markets,” said Comper.

Last year, 33% of BMO’s revenues were generated in the U.S., and, with more than $75 billion in average U.S. assets, the organization has the highest asset base of any Canadian financial institution in the U.S. BMO serves almost 2 million customers in the U.S., in addition to its more than 6 million Canadian customers.

“We are now in an ideal position to accelerate U.S. growth. Having transformed Harris Bank into the full-service, multi-channel bank it is today, we are now focused on making it the premier bank in greater Chicago — with 13 of 50 planned new branches slated to open this calendar year,” said Comper. BMO is committed to expanding to a least 200 branches in Chicago and the surrounding Midwest region.

Comper also spoke of BMO’s progress in the wealth management arena. Over the past four years, BMO has acquired and integrated nine U.S. wealth management properties worth $1.4 billion. It is now the sixth largest direct investing firm in North America.

Established in 1817 as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO) is a highly diversified financial services organization. With average assets of $254 billion as at October 31, 2002 and more than 34,000 employees, BMO provides a broad range of retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and solutions.