BMO Issues $590 Million Bond to Finance Women-Owned Businesses

Bank of Montreal issued a C$750 million ($590 million) bond to help finance women-owned businesses, which the bank sees as particularly important because of the strains the pandemic has placed on female entrepreneurs.

Canada’s fourth-largest lender by assets is offering the five-year Women in Business bond, the bank’s first, as part of its sustainable-financing framework, which is aimed at contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, according to a statement Monday.

The funding will go toward loans to women-owned enterprises in Canada, from micro businesses to medium-size firms, the bank said. Such financing will be crucial in helping Canada’s ...