BMO Recognized as One of Canada's Top Employers for Canadians Over 40

TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 04/09/13 -- For the third consecutive year, BMO Financial Group has been named one of Canada's Best Employers for Canadians over 40 by Mediacorp Inc., the publishers of Canada's Top 100 Employers.

"BMO's strength is driven by our employees and their talent, creativity and commitment to deliver great customer experiences every day," said Richard Rudderham, Executive Vice-President and Head of Human Resources, BMO Financial Group. "We work hard to make sure we have the right people in the right roles and create a work environment that supports all of their personal goals - from career development to community involvement to life at home. This enables employees to perform at their very best at all ages and stages of their career."

BMO has a well-respected reputation for implementing supportive policies and programs that contribute to long-term employee success and meaningful work/life balance. They include:

--  Role-specific development programs and mentoring that offer
    opportunities to grow and learn within a wide variety of career paths; 
--  Subsidies for tuition and professional accreditation, and hundreds of
    course offerings including classroom and online training through BMO's
    corporate university - The Institute for Learning; 
--  A flexible 'People Care' policy that enables managers to grant employees
    time off for a variety of personal needs including volunteer commitments
    for community service, moving, or medical appointments for themselves or
    family members; 
--  A 'Lifeworks' program that offers employees, pensioners, and their
    families a wide range of wellness and work-life balance support,
    including access to qualified caregivers, support for aging relatives
    and back-up child care, and other information to support a healthy
    lifestyle - programs that are increasingly relevant to the 'sandwich'
    generation who are trying to balance competing responsibilities of
    career, children and extended-family care;  
--  Special offers and preferred customer rates for employees and pensioners
    on a wide range of BMO financial products and services; 
--  Employee Share Ownership plans and retirement savings plans; 
--  Retirement planning assistance to help older workers prepare for life
    after work, including opportunities for employees to transition into
    retirement, and flexible working arrangements for employees at all ages
    and stages of their career; 
--  Health coverage that extends into retirement; and 
--  Competitive pension plans. 

The reasons for BMO's selection can be found here.

About BMO Financial Group

Established in 1817 as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group is a highly diversified North American financial services organization. With total assets of $542 billion as at January 31, 2013, and more than 46,000 employees, BMO Financial Group provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and solutions.