On May 17, 2007, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services placed its ratings on Bank of Montreal (BMO) and its related subsidiaries, including the 'AA-' long-term counterparty credit rating on BMO, on CreditWatch with negative implications (see list below). The CreditWatch placement reflects Standard&Poor's heightened concerns over the risk associated with the underlying strength of its enterprise risk management framework, management oversight, and the bank's trading operations following today's announcement that the total marked-to-market commodities trading losses as at April 30, 2007, would be C$680 million before tax. This almost doubles the original estimated pre-tax trading loss of C$350 million-C$450 million that was announced on April 27, 2007. The loss that will be taken against BMO's first- and second-quarter
