BMO Named to Canada's Best 50 Corporate Citizens Ranking by Corporate Knights

• BMO Financial Group takes top spot among major Canadian banks in 20^th edition of the ranking

TORONTO, June 30, 2021 /CNW/ - BMO Financial Group has again been named to Corporate Knights' ranking of Canada's Best 50 Corporate Citizens.

Ranked 13th overall and first among major Canadian banks, BMO received top-quartile scores in Clean Investment, board gender diversity and executive diversity. It also received a top-quartile Clean Revenue score driven by its support for women-owned businesses, community development, on-reserve housing loans, renewable energy loans and financing, impact investments and sustainable bond underwriting.

"We're honoured to be among the top corporate citizens in Canada and to have been included in the top fifty since 2002," said Sharon Haward-Laird, General Counsel, BMO Financial Group. "In a year when we launched our Climate Ambition and established the BMO Climate Institute, this ranking is a further reflection of BMO's ongoing commitment to building a sustainable future and supporting our clients' transition to a net zero world."

The Best 50 Corporate Citizens ranking sets the standard for sustainability leadership in Canada. Honorees are selected from a pool of 271 Canadian companies with revenues over $1 billion.  Each is evaluated on a set of up to 21 environmental, social and governance indicators, relative to their industry peers and using publicly available information.

This recognition builds on BMO's previous ESG rankings and recognitions including:

• Top North American bank on Corporate Knights' 2021 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World for the second year in a row
• Ranked 15th on The Wall Street Journal's 2020 list of the 100 Most Sustainably Managed Companies in the World, third overall on Social Capital – BMO was the only North American bank included
• Ranked in the top ten per cent of banks globally on the 2020 Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and the top North American bank
• Scored an A- on the 2020 CDP Climate Change disclosure
• Ethisphere® Institute's 2020 list of the World's Most Ethical Companies®
• Joint winner of Environmental Finance's 2021 Lead Manager of the Year, Social Bonds – Local Authority/Municipality category

For more information on BMO's commitment to a sustainable future, please visit the 2020 Sustainability Report.

About BMO Financial Group
Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial services provider - the 8th largest bank, by assets, in North America. With total assets of $950 billion as of April 30, 2021, and a team of diverse and highly engaged employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.

SOURCE BMO Financial Group