TORONTO, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Bank of Montreal ( BERZ ) said on

Friday it was withdrawing from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance

(NZBA), making it the first Canadian lender to quit one of the

world's top banking sector climate coalitions.

BMO's action follows that of U.S. lenders that have been

rushing in the past two months to quit the climate coalition

amid rising U.S. political pressure.

Goldman Sachs ( GS ) broke ranks to announce on Dec. 6 it

was leaving NZBA and was soon followed by Wells Fargo ( WFC ),

Citi, Bank of America ( BAC ), Morgan Stanley ( MS ) and

JPMorgan ( JPM ).

"We are fully committed to our climate strategy and

supporting our clients as their lead partner in the transition

to a net zero world," BMO said in a statement.

The lender, Canada's third largest, said it had "robust

internal capabilities to implement relevant international

standards," to support its climate strategy and meet regulatory

requirements.

The NZBA was launched in 2021 to encourage financial

institutions to limit the effects of climate change.

Canadian banks have faced mounting pressure to address

climate-related risks arising from their funding activities in

the past few years.

The country's banking regulator has also addressed

climate risks and has introduced guidelines for financial

institutions to manage their climate-related risks.

Separately,

the U.S. Federal Reserve announced

it had withdrawn from a global body of central banks and

regulators devoted to exploring ways to police climate risk in

the financial system.