Thursday, August 10, 2006

Class Action - Bank of Montreal along with its BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. and BMO Trust Co. divisions are named as defendants in a $100- million class-action lawsuit over foreign currency costs charged to certain registered accounts.

The proposed action, announced Wednesday, is being launched by James MacDonald on behalf of all former and current BMO clients who held registered retirement savings plans, registered retirement income funds or registered education savings plans and incurred foreign currency conversion charges on those accounts since June 14, 2001.

"The statement of claim alleges that the defendants have systematically converted foreign currency in these accounts to Canadian currency without instructions from the customers, and without there being any need to do so, based upon revisions to the Income Tax Act that came into effect on June 14, 2001," MacDonald's lawyers said in a release.

The claim also alleges that BMO failed to change its operational practices after income tax changes allowing RRSPs, RRIFs and RESPs to hold foreign currency as an investment. The allegations have not been proven in court.