Mr. Jeff Roman reports

BMO JOINS PROJECT AGORA TO ADVANCE CROSS-BORDER PAYMENTS THROUGH TOKENIZATION

Bank of Montreal is participating in Project Agora, the global public-private collaboration convened by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Institute of International Finance (IIF) to explore how tokenization and programmability could enhance wholesale cross-border payments. The collaboration includes eight central banks and more than 40 regulated global financial institutions.

BMO's participation builds on Project Agora's progress to date, including successful real-value, multijurisdictional testing conducted in July, 2026, and complements its work with Canadian banks on a secure Canadian-dollar tokenized deposit solution. Through Project Agora, BMO is extending its involvement in tokenized deposit innovation to a global, multicurrency setting.

"Institutional clients increasingly need to move money securely across markets, currencies and time zones without being constrained by traditional operating hours," said Derek Vernon, head, North American treasury and payment solutions, BMO. "By joining Project Agora, BMO is bringing its payments expertise and work in tokenized deposits to a global collaboration focused on building faster, more efficient and resilient cross-border payment infrastructure."

Alongside its technical work, Project Agora is examining important regulatory and legal considerations, including how tokenized central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits can operate within existing requirements for settlement, anti-money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism and data privacy.

About Bank of Montreal

BMO Financial Group is the eighth-largest bank in North America by assets, with total assets of $1.5-trillion as of July 31, 2026. Serving clients for more than 200 years, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management, global markets, and investment banking products and services across Canada, the United States and select markets globally. BMO is innovating for business value, by deploying and integrating human, digital and artificial intelligence to personalize client experiences, augment teams, and automate its business responsibly. Driven by its purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life, BMO is committed to driving positive change in the world, and making progress for a thriving economy, sustainable future and stronger communities.