OREANDA-NEWS. June 10, 2015. BMO Capital Markets, the investment and corporate banking arm of BMO Financial Group (TSX:BMO)(NYSE:BMO), has been named Best Supply Chain Finance Bank in North America by London-based Trade Finance Magazine.

It is the second year in a row that BMO has received the award, underscoring a web-based supply chain finance solution that helps buyers negotiate better terms and suppliers lower working capital financing costs. The awards are given on the basis of an annual Trade Finance survey of industry players.

Supply Chain Finance, also called "approved payable financing", is quickly gathering steam as the global economy recovers. Fortune 1,000 companies across industries are increasingly focusing on managing their working capital, and increasing available cash flow by pushing out payables.

"We are delighted and honoured to receive this award for a second year running," said Peter Grills, Managing Director, Trade Finance, BMO Capital Markets. "This is a working capital and cost reduction play for our clients. As economic optimism rises, BMO clients are benefiting from our significant presence across Canada and the United States, bolstered by global operations on five continents."

"BMO's ability to assess and respond to client needs quickly, and to advise them on ways to improve their working capital efficiency and deepen their relationships with trading partners, has led to consistent success in supply chain financing," said Eric Prideaux, Editor, Trade Finance Magazine.

BMO Capital Markets has also been awarded Trade Finance Firm of the Year (Canada) by FinanceMonthly, recognizing growing demand for the bank's services as developed and developing markets look to trade to drive economic growth.

BMO Capital Markets' Trade Finance Group has relationships with some 1,200 banks in more than 100 countries. It has relationships with thousands of companies across Canada, the United States and Asia. BMO is also the first Canadian bank with a wholly-owned subsidiary in China.

About BMO Trade Finance

BMO's Trade Finance Group advises clients at every stage of growth, whether they are a growing, independent, middle market enterprise or a large publicly traded firm involved in international trade across a number of sectors. From risk mitigation to supply chain finance and trade payables processing, BMO specializes in anticipating and responding to the impacts of fluctuating interest rates and currency values on international trade, managing financial relationships with trading partners and navigating the regulatory landscape. BMO also offers powerful tools that make it easy for clients to execute transactions, monitor trade activity and track results.

About BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets is a leading, full-service North American financial services provider. With more than 2,300 employees operating in 29 locations, including 16 in North America, BMO Capital Markets offers corporate, institutional and government clients access to a complete range of investment and corporate banking products and services. BMO Capital Markets is a member of BMO Financial Group (NYSE:BMO)(TSX:BMO), one of the largest diversified financial services providers in North America, with total assets of CDN \\$633 billion as of April 30, 2015, and more than 47,000 employees.

About Trade Finance Magazine

Trade Finance magazine is Euromoney Publications' flagship international trade, export, commodity and supply chain finance publication. Euromoney has been covering trends in trade finance for more than 30 years and is the longest standing global publication concentrating exclusively on the international trade finance market. The Trade Finance "Awards for Excellence" have been awarded ever since the magazine launched in 1998. For more information, visit www.tradefinancemagazine.com.