Standard&Poor's today said the ratings on Bank of Montreal (AA-/Watch Neg/A-1+) will remain on CreditWatch with negative implications where they were placed Oct. 29, 2001, subsequent to concerns over the outlook for profitability improvement in the medium term (please refer to Standard&Poor's press release dated Oct. 29, 2001, for more details) and the bank's credit quality. The implications of the bank's purchase of Credit Suisse First Boston's (CSFB; AA/Negative/A-1+) on-line brokerage business do not change this position and are being considered in conjunction with Standard&Poor's current review of the bank. If it does not appear that the Bank of Montreal's profitability performance can recover quickly and progress to levels commensurate with other banks in
