Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Corp. 'A+/A-1' Issuer Credit Ratings Affirmed; SACPs Raised On Stronger Risk Profile

In the past few years, Bank of Montreal (BMO) has demonstrated good risk management with historically low loan losses and increased diversity in revenue streams and loan exposures, and has followed a conservative organic growth strategy. We are revising our stand-alone credit profile (SACP) on BMO to 'a' from 'a-', to reflect improvements in its risk position. We are also revising our SACP on BMO Financial Corp. (BFC) to 'bbb+' from 'bbb', to reflect the substantial improvement in non-accruals and modest credit loss experience over the past several years. Given the improved stand-alone creditworthiness, we are raising our issue-level ratings on BMO's non-viability contingent capital (NVCC) and non-NVCC subordinated and hybrid securities. We are affirming our 'A+/A-1' long- and short-term

...+ In the past few years, Bank of Montreal (BMO) has demonstrated good risk management with historically low loan losses and increased diversity in revenue streams and loan exposures, and has followed a conservative organic growth strategy. + We are revising our stand-alone credit profile (SACP) on BMO to 'a' from 'a-', to reflect improvements in its risk position. We are also revising our SACP on BMO Financial Corp. (BFC) to '###+' from '###', to reflect the substantial improvement in non-accruals and modest credit loss experience over the past several years. + Given the improved stand-alone creditworthiness, we are raising our issue-level ratings on BMO's non-viability contingent capital (NVCC) and non-NVCC subordinated and hybrid securities. We are affirming our 'A+/A-1' long- and short-term issuer credit ratings on BMO and its operating subsidiaries, including BFC. + The stable outlook on BMO and its operating subsidiaries reflects our expectations that the bank's financial performance...

Ratings Action