Bank Sponsors Lion Exhibit

Harris to Sponsor African Lions at the Indianapolis Zoo

Fri Dec 7, 2007 11:00am EST  Email | Print | Share| Reprints | Single Page | Recommend (0) [-] Text [+]

Multi-Year Agreement Will Support Bank’s Brand Presence

INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 7, 2007 — The Indianapolis Zoo and Harris today

announced a new two-year sponsorship agreement that designates Harris as the

presenting sponsor of the African Lions exhibit. Under the terms of the

agreement, Harris will serve as the "Official Sponsor of the African Lions."

As a gift to the Zoo, Harris presented permanent African Lions signage at the

exhibit in the Plains Biome.

    Harris, a fixture in Chicago-area banking for 125 years, has long used the

lion as a symbol of its pride in serving customers’ financial needs and later

introduced its friendly lion mascot, Hubert, to show its approachability and

friendliness as a financial provider.

    Now a part of the central Indiana market through the acquisition of First

National Bank & Trust, Harris is pleased to celebrate its arrival through this

sponsorship.

    "As the new bank in town, we are thrilled to be partnering with the

Indianapolis Zoo," said John Frieburg, regional president for Harris,

"Supporting the lions represents a strong commitment to central Indiana and to

our customers — Our company’s slogan is: ‘We’re Here to Help,’ and sponsoring

the lions does just that."

    "The Indianapolis Zoo is very excited and honored to be joining forces

with Harris," said Michael Crowther, President and CEO of the Indianapolis

Zoo. "The African lions are a perfect fit for Harris and we take great pride

in working with Harris in bringing added attention to this species."

    Hubert the Harris Lion was created in 1958 and almost 50 years later,

Hubert still plays a supporting role in providing trust, comfort and

credibility to Harris’ offerings and expertise. To a number of generations he

is considered a Chicago icon and advocate for customers, serving as a reminder

that Harris is a group of trustworthy professionals always there to help

customers along their financial journey.

    The Hubert mascot was developed by Chicago advertising legend, Leo

Burnett.  Burnett created the Chicago icon at the same time he was developing

Tony the Tiger for the Kellogg’s(R) Frosted Flakes(R) brand.

    In addition to name placement at the Zoo and in marketing materials,

Harris will be given exclusive participation in the naming of any new lion

cubs born during the sponsorship.  It has been four years since the lions have

had a litter.  This week a young lioness named Zuri from the Denver Zoo was

flown to Indianapolis in hopes of changing that.

    About Harris

    Harris is an integrated financial service organization providing more than

1 million personal, business and corporate clients with banking, lending,

investing and wealth management solutions. The organization is a member of the

BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO), which also provides corporate and

investment banking services in the U.S. under the BMO Capital Markets name.

For more information, please visit www.bmocm.com or

www.harrisbank.com.

    About The Indianapolis Zoo

    Located in White River State Park downtown, the Indianapolis Zoo is

accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the American

Association of Museums as a zoo, aquarium and botanical garden. The

Indianapolis Zoo inspires local and global communities to celebrate, protect,

and preserve our natural world through conservation, education, and research,

and by providing an enriching and wondrous environment for our visitors and

the animals in our care.  Look for the AZA logo whenever you visit a zoo or

aquarium as your assurance that you are supporting a facility dedicated to

providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for you, and a better

future for all living things. For more information, please visit

www.indyzoo.com.

    Harris(R) is a trade name used by various financial service subsidiaries

of Harris Financial Corp.  Banking products and services are provided by

Harris N.A., The Harris Bank, N.A. and their bank affiliates.  Members FDIC.

    Brokerage products are offered through Harris Investor Services, Inc.

(HIS), a registered broker/dealer, member NASD/SIPC, and SEC registered

investment adviser.  Insurance and annuities are offered through Harris

Bancorp Insurance Services, Inc. (HBIS). Securities are provided by BMO

Capital Markets Corp. (BMOCM), a registered broker dealer and member NYSE,

NASD and SIPC.  HIS, HBIS and BMOCM are affiliated companies and are wholly

owned subsidiaries of Harris Financial Corp.  Products offered by HIS, HBIS

and BMOCM are Not Insured by the FDIC or any Federal Government Agency, Not a

Deposit of or Guaranteed by Any Bank or Bank Affiliate, May Lose Value.  The

purchase of insurance or an annuity is not a condition to any bank loan or

service.  Financial planning and investment advisory services are provided by

Sullivan, Bruyette, Speros & Blayney, Inc., an SEC registered investment

adviser.  Family Office Services are provided by Harris myCFO, Inc.

Investment advisory services are offered by Harris myCFO Investment Advisory

Services LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser and wholly-owned subsidiary

of Harris myCFO, Inc.  Not all products and services are offered in every

state and/or location.

SOURCE  Harris; Indianapolis Zoo

Chris Nardella of Harris, +1-312-461-6625; or Sarah Burnette of Indianapolis

Zoo, +1-317-630-3265

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS158582+07-Dec-2007+PRN20071207

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