*

BMO is open to financing new projects, CEO says

*

Carney focuses on nation-building projects to counter U.S.

tariff

*

Royal Bank CEO urges Canada to reduce project approval

timelines

By Nivedita Balu

TORONTO, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Bank of Montreal ( BNKD ) is

ready to finance Canadian infrastructure projects and can help

attract international capital into the country but will need

more clarity on trade and tax policies, the lender's CEO told

Reuters on Wednesday.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney aims to speed up the

approval of what he calls nation-building projects, potentially

including ports and oil pipelines, to help Canada's economy

weather U.S. tariffs.

"We can help with the financing, with the advice on the

development of projects. We can also help with the attraction of

international capital into Canada with all of the advantages

that we have here," BMO's chief executive officer, Darryl White,

said on the sidelines of a conference on U.S.-Canada relations

hosted by the bank.

White spoke to Reuters a day after U.S. President Donald

Trump promised to treat Canada fairly in trade talks but cast

doubt on the future of a continental trade deal that also

includes Mexico.

"The challenge is, the international investor has sat up and

said, 'Oh, Canada, that's interesting and maybe that's an

alternative to investing a dollar in the United States.' We're

not yet at the stage where we've convinced them," White said,

noting the lack of clarity on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement,

inter-provincial trade barriers and competitive tax policies.

"We've got their attention, but we haven't convinced them

because they don't have clarity on all these things," he said.

Meanwhile in Calgary, Royal Bank of Canada ( RY ) CEO Dave

McKay said Canada had been too risk-averse for too long, adding

that timelines for the approval of projects had been protracted

due to what he termed excessive caution.

"What are we afraid of? We're afraid of making a mistake ...

we've bubble-wrapped our economy and we're waiting for someone

else to solve it, but we have to solve it ourselves," the head

of Canada's largest bank told the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.

Canada has economic leverage, McKay said, in the form of

U.S. demand for its oil and Asian demand for its liquefied

natural gas.

But he said the Canadian government needs to grant

permitting approval to major projects as a first step, adding

that global capital will only start to flow once investors have

confidence that the country is serious about building new energy

infrastructure.

BMO's White is betting on a prosperous North American

economy in the coming decades. Nearly 40% of BMO's income comes

from south of the border and 50% from Canada.

"I'm encouraged ... but we need to stop walking and start

running," he said.