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(March 7, 2007) BMO Harris Private Banking is launching a value-added service to its personal banking for wealthy clients that will assist them with time-consuming tasks that range from transferring money to university-age children to helping with laundry and groceries.

“From banking to investing to lifestyle services, enCircle EXEC is designed to simplify our clients’ lives and make it easy for busy executives to cope with the sometimes overwhelming number of details in their lives so that they can focus on other priorities, such as caring for aging parents or freeing up leisure time,” said Jean Blacklock, vice-president, BMO Harris Private Banking.

The program is aimed at affluent baby boomers in particular, who control 45% of wealth in Canada, with a combined net worth of more than $530 billion. BMO points out three in five Canadian boomers with children aged 18 and over are providing some kind of financial support to their kids.

Adding to the pressure, BMO said one-quarter of those boomers whose parents are still alive have one or more elderly parents who need their assistance on a regular basis.

BMO cites these reasons among others for its decision to launch enCircle EXEC, a service that not only manages the financial affairs of busy professionals but also provides assistance with some of life’s other daily duties.

“We heard clearly — from time-starved, busy executives, entrepreneurs, accountants and lawyers — that if we could bundle a package of services that incorporates the comprehensive services traditionally expected from a full-service private bank with access to a suite of non-banking lifestyle services, we’d have a solution that they would embrace. So we did just that,” Blacklock said.

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CRA halts online tax-filing

(March 7, 2007) The commissioner of the Canada Revenue Agency, Michel Dorais, informed the public on Wednesday that some online personal income tax filing will be temporarily halted. CRA said the halt is a preventative measure after it found that some of its computer systems are having infrastructure problems that could potentially leave taxpayers vulnerable to information misuse.

Applications that are temporarily offline include personal tax filing services Efile, Netfile and My Account. The CRA said that business tax systems are not directly affected.

“There is no indication that this situation was caused by intrusion, hacking, or computer virus,” Dorais said. “The security of taxpayer information remains paramount as we strive to understand and correct this situation. Until we can announce a business recovery date, the agency will provide daily updates to the media on the steps we are taking.”

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RBC Dexia and Mellon Group tops in custody services

(March 7, 2007) RBC Dexia and the Mellon Group, which includes CIBC Mellon, both earned a number of first-place scores in the R&M global custody survey.

The survey, conducted by London (U.K.)-based R&M Surveys, polled more than 1,000 people — from investment managers to pension fund customers and other institutional global custody clients — about various service categories related to custody.

RBC Dexia took the number-one overall ranking worldwide for the third straight year. It was also given top honours for global custody services in Canada and the U.K., as well as being ranked number one by asset owners and asset managers.

The Mellon Group finished second overall in the global rankings and first in North America and with clients who have assets of more than $10 billion dollars.

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Addenda joins Standard Life group plans

(March 7, 2007) Standard Life Canada has announced the addition of fixed-income manager Addenda Capital to its Quality & Choice Investment Program, which is the investment platform for its group savings and retirement business.

Standard Life said the Montreal-based Addenda concentrates exclusively on fixed-income investments and is currently ranked 10th in Benefits Canada’s survey of Canada’s top 40 pension fund managers.

Brian Cyr, management associate, Quality & Choice Investment Program, said Addenda is a good fit with Standard’s investment philosophy.

“The addition of Addenda to our lineup creates additional investment opportunities within the fixed-income selection for plan sponsors and their members while at the same time adding real value to our program,” Cyr said. “This is in line with the philosophy of the Quality & Choice Investment Program, which is to select managers based on their consistent long-term results, the quality of the organization and suitability as an investment option for members of group retirement and savings programs.”

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(03/07/07)