Mr. Derek Vernon reports

BMO INTRODUCES TOKENIZED CASH AND DEPOSIT PLATFORM WITH CME GROUP AND GOOGLE CLOUD

Bank of Montreal, in collaboration with CME Group and Google Cloud, has released plans to introduce new 24-seven tokenized cash capabilities that will allow institutional clients to move value more easily and securely using CME Group's permissioned network on Google Cloud Universal Ledger.

As a North American leader in payments, BMO is supporting its institutional clients by expanding use cases for accessing tokenized cash through a bank-anchored, institutional framework that enables BMO clients to convert dollars into a tokenized instrument for use with margined products at CME Group.

As global markets require continuous operations, institutions need infrastructure that can support the 24-seven movement of value for critical functions including margin calls, trading and settlement. CME Group's tokenized cash solution is designed to support high-value, real-time settlement needs for institutional participants.

"We are excited to work with CME Group and Google Cloud to deliver a truly innovative solution that modernizes capital market efficiency as the industry advances toward more continuous trading and settlement while laying the groundwork for BMO tokenized deposits that support broader real-world payment and treasury use cases," said Derek Vernon, head, North American treasury and payment solutions, BMO. "As the global ecosystem for stablecoins and tokenized deposits continues to expand rapidly, this capability marks significant progress of BMO's ambition to bring regulated money movement into a modern, programmable environment. Clients will be able to move funds continuously when markets demand it, not when banking hours allow it -- reducing funding gaps and operational friction."

"With the world moving toward 24-seven trading, CME Group is focused on providing the efficiencies our clients need to manage collateral and margin costs," said Suzanne Sprague, chief operating officer and global head of clearing, CME Group. "Working with BMO and Google Cloud to tokenize cash at CME Clearing will allow firms to meet margin requirements and settlement obligations in real time, freeing up capital that would otherwise need to wait for traditional banking cycles."

"Our collaboration with CME Group and BMO demonstrates how Google Cloud's innovative infrastructure solves the complex challenges in finance and empowers our partners to fundamentally transform their businesses," said James Tromans, managing director, Web3 and digital assets, Google Cloud. "By providing an enterprise-ready, easy-to-integrate foundation through Google Cloud Universal Ledger, we are enabling BMO and CME Group to offer unparalleled capital efficiency and are helping to significantly reduce operational friction for global markets."

Key features of the new capabilities include:

• Tokenized cash: Available to mutual clients of CME Group and BMO, the bank plans to offer an institutional settlement instrument to regulated financial service firms operating in capital markets and the commercial banking space in the second half of 2026, pending regulatory approval.
• Tokenized deposits: This will allow BMO to offer traditional commercial bank funds in digital form, made available to a broader set of BMO clients to enable general-purpose business-to-business payments, treasury movements and programmable cash applications.
• Always-on movement of value: BMO clients will be able to convert U.S. dollars into tokenized deposits and tokenized cash 24-seven, allowing the bank to meet global market needs such as extended trading hours, more continuous operations and moving collateral without traditional cut-off constraints.

The collaboration with BMO builds upon the CME Group and Google Cloud's March, 2025, announcement to pilot solutions for secure wholesale payments and tokenization of assets using GCUL.

GCUL is an innovative, programmable, distributed ledger designed to be easy for financial institutions in traditional finance to integrate and use. It simplifies the management of accounts and assets, and facilitates transfers on a private and permissioned network. This collaborative platform empowers participants to leverage their core capabilities and launch services for their clients that meet evolving demands and enhance their overall experiences.

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 Jan. 31, 2026. Serving clients for 200 years and counting, BMO is a diverse team of highly engaged employees providing a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management, global markets, and investment banking products and services to approximately 13 million clients across Canada, across the United States and in select markets globally. Driven by a single 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.