Three veteran investment bankers join the Chicago office CHICAGO, May 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BMO Capital Markets, the investment and corporate banking arm of BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TXS: BMO), announced the hiring today of three senior investment bankers to its Food & Consumer division. All three are joining from Banc of America Securities. Greg Pearlman has joined as Managing Director and Head of the Food & Consumer group and will be responsible for directing BMO's activities in this area. Michael Taylor has joined the team as Managing Director and Alex Jacobs as Director. "BMO Capital Markets group has over 75 years of experience successfully developing client relationships in the food & consumer sector. In the coming months, continued globalization is expected to drive M&A activity as companies seek access to new consumers and products as well as grow in large economies, including India and China," said Dave Casper, Executive Managing Director & Co-Head, U.S. Investment and Corporate Banking. "To help capitalize on these opportunities and position us for future growth, we are thrilled to have experienced and knowledgeable investment bankers such as Greg, Michael and Alex, join our strong team," added, Dominic Petito, Executive Managing Director and Co-Head, U.S. Investment & Corporate Banking. Greg Pearlman has 23 years of deal experience in M&A, equity and fixed income underwritings. Prior to Banc of America Securities, Greg was Managing Director at Morgan Stanley. He holds an M.M. in Finance and Management Policy from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan. Michael Taylor has 14 years of investment banking experience and has originated and worked on numerous M&A and capital raising transactions, with particular focus on the household, personal care and consumer durable sub-sectors. He holds an MBA from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Science in Business from the University of Colorado. Alex Jacobs worked in the Food & Beverage investment banking sector for Banc of America Securities for the last eight years where he focused on M&A, leveraged finance and investment grade capital raising. He has also worked in the M&A group at PepsiCo. He holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management and a B.A. from Swarthmore College. The team will be attending the BMO Capital Markets fourth annual Agriculture, Protein and Fertilizer Conference in New York over the next two days featuring senior management presentations from 43 companies. (http://www.bmocm.com/conferences/agricultureproteinfertilizer2009) About BMO Capital Markets' Food & Consumer Group For over 75 years, BMO Capital Markets has committed broad resources to helping companies across the food & consumer industry. The Food & Consumer Group provides a full suite of financial products and services to six subsectors, including: - Consumer Products; - Food & Beverage; - Inputs & Commodities; - Protein; - Retail and Wholesale Distribution; and - Wine, Seafood & Produce. About BMO Capital Markets BMO Capital Markets is a leading full-service North American financial services provider, with over 2,400 employees operating in 14 North American offices and 26 worldwide, offering corporate, institutional and government clients access to a full range of products and services, including investment and corporate banking, advisory services, treasury and market risk management, institutional investing, and research. BMO Capital Markets is a member of BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO), one of the largest diversified financial services providers in North America with US$361 billion total assets and 37,000 employees as at January 31, 2009. DATASOURCE: BMO Capital Markets CONTACT: For media inquiries please contact: Orli Namian, , (416) 867-3996

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