Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Bank of Montreal’s public communications often include written or oral forward-looking statements. Statements of this type are included in this press release and may be included in other filings with Canadian securities regulators or the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or in other communications. All such statements are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of, and are intended to be forward-looking statements under, the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and any applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements in this press release may include, but are not limited to: statements with respect to BMO’s intention to establish a normal course issuer bid. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as “will”, “would”, “should”, “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “project”, “intend”, “estimate”, “plan”, “commit”, “target”, “may”, “schedule”, “forecast”, “outlook”, “seek” and “could” or negative or grammatical variations thereof.
By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific in nature. There is significant risk that predictions, forecasts, conclusions or projections will not prove to be accurate, that our assumptions may not be correct, and that actual results may differ materially from such predictions, forecasts, conclusions or projections. We caution readers of this press release not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, as a number of factors – many of which are beyond our control and the effects of which can be difficult to predict – could cause actual future results, conditions, actions or events to differ materially from the targets, expectations, estimates or intentions expressed in the forward-looking statements.
The future outcomes that relate to forward-looking statements may be influenced by many factors, including, but not limited to: general economic and market conditions in the countries in which we operate, including labour challenges and changes in foreign exchange and interest rates; changes to our credit ratings; cyber and information security, including the threat of data breaches, hacking, identity theft and corporate espionage, as well as the possibility of denial of service resulting from efforts targeted at causing system failure and service disruption; technology resilience, innovation and competition; failure of third parties to comply with their obligations to us; political conditions, including changes relating to, or affecting, economic or trade matters; disruptions of global supply chains; environmental and social risk, including climate change; the Canadian housing market and consumer leverage; inflationary pressures; changes in laws, including tax legislation and interpretation, or in supervisory expectations or requirements, including capital, interest rate and liquidity requirements and guidance, and the effect of such changes on funding costs and capital requirements; changes in monetary, fiscal or economic policy; weak, volatile or illiquid capital or credit markets; the level of competition in the geographic and business areas in which we operate; exposure to, and the resolution of, significant litigation or regulatory matters, the appeal of favourable outcomes and our ability to successfully appeal adverse outcomes of such matters and the timing, determination and recovery of amounts related to such matters; the accuracy and completeness of the information we obtain with respect to our customers and counterparties; our ability to execute our strategic plans, complete proposed acquisitions or dispositions and integrate acquisitions, including obtaining regulatory approvals, and realize any anticipated benefits from such plans and transactions; critical accounting estimates and judgments, and the effects of changes in accounting standards, rules and interpretations on these estimates; operational and infrastructure risks, including with respect to reliance on third parties; global capital markets activities; the emergence or continuation of widespread health emergencies or pandemics, and their impact on local, national or international economies, as well as their heightening of certain risks that may affect our future results; the possible effects on our business of war or terrorist activities; natural disasters, such as earthquakes or flooding, and disruptions to public infrastructure, such as transportation, communications, power or water supply; and our ability
