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 Headquarters atCIBC Square | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
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| Industry | Financial services |
| Predecessors | |
| Founded | June 1, 1961; 64 years ago (1961-06-01)[1][2][3][4][a] |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people |
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| Products | |
| Brands | CIBC Bank USA Simplii Financial |
| Revenue |  CA$29.133 billion[7]: 4 (2025) |
| CA$8.454 billion[7]: 4 (2025) | |
| AUM | CA$430.982 billion[7]: 4 (2025) |
| Total assets | CA$1.11 trillion[7]: 109 (2025) |
| Total equity | CA$64.4 billion[7]: 109 (2025) |
Number of employees | 49,824 (FTE)[7]: 4 (2025) |
| Subsidiaries | |
| Website | cibc |
TheCanadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC;French:Banque canadienne impériale de commerce) is a Canadianmultinational banking andfinancial services corporation headquartered atCIBC Square inToronto'sFinancial District.[3] The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was formed through the 1961 merger of theCanadian Bank of Commerce (founded in 1867) and theImperial Bank of Canada (founded in 1873), in the largest merger between chartered banks in Canadian history.[3][8] It is one of two"Big Five" banks founded in Toronto, the other being theToronto-Dominion Bank.
The bank has four strategic business units: Canadian Personal and Business Banking, Canadian Commercial Banking and Wealth Management, U.S. Commercial Banking and Wealth Management, and Capital Markets.[6] It has international operations in theUnited States, theCaribbean,Asia, andUnited Kingdom. CIBC serves more than eleven million clients globally, and employs over 40,000 people. The company ranks at number 172 on theForbes Global 2000 listing.[9]
CIBC'sInstitution Number (or bank number) is 010, and itsSWIFT code is CIBCCATT.
The Imperial Bank of Canada was founded in Toronto in 1873 byHenry Stark Howland. The bank set up its offices in the Exchange Building on Wellington Street, where it remained until 1936. That year, it moved to a new building at the corner of King and Bay, where CIBC would build Commerce Court West in 1973. Imperial acquired several banks, including the Niagara District Bank (1875), andWeyburn Security Bank (1931), and the Canadian operations ofBarclays (1956). After the end of World War II, Imperial was the country's fifth-largest bank, with assets under administration of approximately $270 billion.[10]
William McMaster founded the Canadian Bank of Commerce which opened on May 15, 1867, in Toronto as competition for theBank of Montreal; by 1874 it had 24 branches. The Imperial Bank of Canada opened in Toronto on March 18, 1875, founded by former Commerce Vice-presidentHenry Stark Howland. By the end of 1895, the Canadian Bank of Commerce had grown to 58 branches and the Imperial Bank of Canada to 18. The 1896 gold strike in theYukon prompted the Dominion Government to ask the Canadian Bank of Commerce to open a branch inDawson City.
Wood, Gundy & Company, the precursor of CIBC's investment banking arm, opened its doors on February 1, 1905. During World War I, it took a prominent and active role in the organization of Victory Loans.
Acquisitions in the 1920s caused the Commerce Bank to become one of the strongest branch networks in Canada with over 700 local branches; and the bank opened international branches in Cuba, Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad during the same period.
The Canadian Bank of Commerce opened its new head office in Toronto in 1931. An observation gallery on the 32nd floor attracted visitors who could get an aerial view of the city. At a height of 145 metres (476 ft), it was the tallest building in theCommonwealth of Nations until 1962 with the completion ofCIBC Tower in Montreal.
In 1936, the Commerce was the first Canadian bank to establish a personal loans department. Following World War II, both banks opened new branches. Although the banks had been barred from the mortgage business in 1871, the Canadian government now called upon them to provide mortgage services. So, in 1954, Canadian banks started offering mortgages for new construction.
The origins of the Imperial–Commerce merger lay in the actions ofBarclays Bank. Barclays began operating in Canada in 1929, but in 1956 sold its Canadian operations to the Imperial Bank. Barclays took payment partly in the form of Imperial stock. In 1960, without informing Imperial's board, Barclays began buying additional Imperial stock on the open market.L. Stuart Mackersy, chairman of Imperial, believed Barclays was making a play to take over Imperial. Mackersy thought that a takeover of a small bank such as Imperial was inevitable, but preferred to work with domestic rather than British concerns.[11] In October 1960, Mackersy approachedNeil J. McKinnon, the president and chairman of the Commerce, with a proposal to merge the two banks. Their first meeting took place secretively at McKinnon's house at 116 Dunvegan Road inForest Hill, making the house the birthplace of the CIBC. According to Mackersy, within ten minutes he and McKinnon reached an agreement to merge their banks.[12]
On 1 June 1961, the Canadian Bank of Commerce and the Imperial Bank of Canada merged to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce with over 1,200 branches across Canada. The new bank possessed the greatest resources and the most branches of any bank in the country.
In 1964, the bank operated a floating branch using the passenger vessel MVJean Brilliant along the north shore of theSt. Lawrence River inQuebec,[13] billed as the only floating branch in Canada for 5000 customers. In 1967, both Canada and CIBC celebrated their centenaries and CIBC was the only chartered bank to have a branch on-site atExpo 67. Also at this time computerization began to change banking services and the Yonge and Bloor branch in Toronto was the first Canadian bank branch to update customer bank books via computer. This also marked the introduction of inter-branch banking. Before the decade was out, CIBC had introduced the first 24-hour cash dispenser, which would eventually become the ATM.
Following the merger, the new bank commissioned a new head office. While planning to retain Commerce Court North, the bank hired architectI. M. Pei to design a three-building complex. The result was Commerce Court consisting of a landscaped courtyard complementing the existing building and included the newly built 786 ft (240 m) Commerce Court West. When completed in 1973, the 57-storey building was the tallest in Canada, and the largest stainless-steel-clad building in the world.
Changes to federal and provincial regulations ending the separation of banks, investment dealers, trust companies and insurance companies came in 1987. CIBC quickly took advantage of this and became the first Canadian bank to operate an investment dealer, CIBC Securities, offering services to the public.
In 1988, CIBC acquired a majority interest inWood Gundy which brought a well-respected name and reputation in underwriting. Shortly thereafter, the corporation merged Wood Gundy and CIBC Securities under the nameCIBC Wood Gundy which became CIBC Oppenheimer in 1997[14] and later,CIBC World Markets.
In 1992, CIBC introduced automated telephone banking; in 1995 the bank launched its website, and shortly thereafter began offering banking services online. In 1996, CIBC formed HP Intria Items, alongsideHewlett-Packard and Fiserv Canada. In 2005, CIBC acquired the shares of the company from Fiserv Canada, resulting in Intria Items becoming a unit of CIBC. In 1998, CIBC joined withLoblaws to createPresident's Choice Financial which it launched in 28 Ottawa area stores.
CIBC agreed to merge with theToronto-Dominion Bank in 1998. However theGovernment of Canada, at the recommendation of theminister of finance,Paul Martin, blocked the merger – as well as another proposed by theBank of Montreal with theRoyal Bank of Canada – as not in the best interest of Canadians.[15]
In 2000, CIBC signed an agreement with the New York-based Aplettix Inc., a firm specializing in secure transaction systems in the banking sector; although the partnership was later abandoned for alternatives such as VeriSign.
The early 2000s saw the bank divest from its real estate and investments outside of its business strategy. In 2000, CIBC sold its 10 per cent stake toRogers Media. CIBC was a minority shareholder inMajor League Baseball'sToronto Blue Jays, with partnerLabatt's Breweries from their inception in 1977. TheCIBC Leadership Centre inKing City, was sold to Benchmark Hospitality in 2001. In 2002, CIBC disbanded Amicus FSB, and sold its assets to E*Trade Bank. Amicus FSB was formed in 1999 in the United States withWinn Dixie andSafeway Inc. under the Marketplace Bank and Safeway Select Bank brands. In the same year, CIBC signed a 10-year agreement withTSYS ofColumbus, Georgia to outsource credit card processing operations.
In 2004, the bank soldJuniper Financial Corporation toBarclays Bank. Juniper Financial was previously acquired by CIBC in 2001.[16] The bank sold EDULINX Canada Corporation to Nelnet Canada Inc., the Canadian unit ofNelnet, Inc., in late 2004.Li Ka Shing was the largest foreign shareholder in the bank for over two decades, but in early 2005 he sold his portion (est. CA$1.2 billion) to establish a Canadian charity, the Li Ka Shing Foundation. CIBC was Li's choice for financing many of his Canadian ventures, likeHusky Energy. Li had reportedly backed personal and commercial banking headHolger Kluge to succeed Al Flood as CEO of CIBC in 1999.
CIBC sold its corporate and purchasing credit card business toU.S. Bank Canada in October 2006 which joined it with business charge cards it previously acquired fromRoyal Bank of Canada. In the same year, CIBC's stock ticker symbol on theNew York Stock Exchange changed fromBCM toCM to bring it in line with the ticker symbol on theToronto Stock Exchange.
In December 2006, CIBC acquired majority control of its publicly held joint ventureFirstCaribbean International Bank for just overUS$1 billion, (Bds$2 billion), when it purchased the 43.7% stake owned by Barclays Bank.[17] CIBC rebranded the divisionCIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank in 2011.[18]
On February 12, 2009, theTrinidad and Tobago Express reported that CIBC was pursuing discussions to buyCL Financial's stake in theRepublic Bank ofTrinidad and Tobago.[19] As part of a "bail out" agreement of CL Financial by the government of Trinidad and Tobago during the2008 financial crisis, the corporation was required to sell Republic and other assets. As of February 2011,[update] CL Financial had yet to agree to a sale.[20]
In February, 2010 CIBC became the first chartered bank in Canada to launch a mobile bankingiPhone App. It surpassed 100,000 downloads in just over one month following launch, with over 1 million client logins to CIBC Mobile Banking since its introduction.[21][22] Four months later, the bank announced it signed a deal to buy a CA$2.1-billion credit card portfolio fromCitigroup'sCitibank CanadaMasterCard business.[23] Finally in October of that year, CIBC announced that it would be the first bank in Canada to introduce the internationally used Visa-branded debit card.[24]
In April 2013, CIBC reached an agreement withInvesco to acquireAtlantic Trust, the company's wealth management unit for US$210 million.[25]
CIBC announced in June 2016 that it would acquire the Chicago-based commercial bank PrivateBancorp for US$3.8 billion.[26] The sale completed in June 2017 and in August PrivateBank announced it would rebrand itself asCIBC Bank USA.[27]
In April 2017, CIBC, announced it would move its headquarters to the Bay Park Centre under development byHines Interests Limited Partnership andIvanhoé Cambridge. Under the terms of its lease, the complex becameCIBC Square.[28] On November 1, 2021, CIBC Square became the bank's principal headquarters.[29]
In November 2018, CBC reported that CIBC was among the top brands used in phishing attacks, with the bank seeing a surge in fake mail attempts that prior quarter by 600%.[30] In March 2025, CIBC became the first major Canadian bank to sign the Canadian government's voluntary code of conduct for generative artificial intelligence. The year prior, CIBC had introduced a number of generative AI pilot programs.[31]
In 2025, CIBC signaled a strategic shift under incoming CEO Harry Culham, with plans to expand its presence in high-margin areas such as wealth management and U.S. commercial banking.[32]
In Q3 2025, CIBC reported adjusted net income of C$2.1 billion.[33]
| Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce |
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| (amalgamation 1961) |
In 1920, Canadian Bank of Commerce established its first branches in the West Indies inBridgetown, Barbados and inKingston, Jamaica. The same year it also opened branches inPort of Spain,Trinidad andHavana, Cuba. Its first branch inMexico City opened in 1910. In 1957, the bank opened a branch inNassau, theBahamas, and in the subsequent years expanded its operations in Jamaica.
Between 1963 and 1988, the bank expanded its branch network in Barbados opened branches inSt. Vincent,Antigua, andSt Lucia. In 1988, CIBC sold 45% of its shares in CIBC Jamaica via a public share issue. Between 1993 and 1996, the bank restructured its holdings in the Caribbean, with the incorporation of CIBC West Indies Holdings Limited and CIBC Caribbean Limited.[37] CIBC West Indies Holdings then sold 30% of its shares to the public. In 1997, CIBC issued 5 million shares in CIBC Bahamas Limited to the public.
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On October 31, 2001, Barclays and CIBC agreed to combine their Caribbean operations to establish FirstCaribbean International Bank. CIBC bought Barclays' stake in 2006 to give it control of approximately 92% of FirstCaribbean, which was rebranded asCIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank.[18] In 2010, CIBC acquired a 22.5% equity ofButterfield Bank ofBermuda.[38]
CIBC is well known for its publicized battles of succession to the top position of president and CEO (formerly styled chairman and CEO until 2003 when the positions were separated). When Al Flood became CEO, one of his first acts was to fire his chief rival Paul Cantor. In 1999, the company saw a competition betweenWood Gundy (now CIBC World Markets) chief John S. Hunkin and Personal/Commercial banking head Holger Kluge, with Kluge retiring after Hunkin became chairman. In February 2004, Hunkin forced his friend and heir-apparent, David Kassie, to resign as chairman and CEO of World Markets after several scandals in the US. Both men had waived their bonuses in 2002 after that year produced the worst results in the history of the bank. Kassie afterwards founded Genuity Capital and was alleged to have raided 20 key employees from World Markets for his new startup, causing CIBC to file suit.[39] Gerald T. McCaughey became Kassie's replacement heading World Markets and in February 2004, was promoted to president and chief operating officer, assuring his succession as CEO.[40] Shortly after assuming his position, McCaughey reportedly dismissed Jill Denham, vice chair of retail markets and a potential rival for the CEO post. Denham was reportedly a close ally of Hunkin and Kassie, and McCaughey wanted to build his own senior executive team.[41]
Current executive team:
Current members of theboard of directors:[42]
As a founding partner of the Toronto Blue Jays baseball club, CIBC was the team'sofficial bank until selling its ownership stake in 2000.[43] Other sporting events sponsored by CIBC include the2015 Pan American Games and2015 Parapan American Games, in which it served as the lead partner. The partnership was announced on 27 October 2011, when CIBC formalized its partnership with the PANAM Toronto 2015 Organizing Committee.[44]
CIBC has also partnered with a number of other Canadian corporations, such asPetro-Canada. As part of its purchase of MasterCard from Citibank Canada in 2010, CIBC acquired the co-branded Petro-Canada rewards credit card and continues to jointly market the card.[23] From 1991 to 2014, CIBC was the primary issuer of credit cards as part of Air Canada'sloyalty program,Aeroplan. In 2009, the airline loyalty program announced that a new agreement with Toronto-Dominion Bank would be effective 1 January 2014, ending the relationship with CIBC. In 2013, an agreement was reached to allow CIBC to retain half of customers who had Aeroplan credit cards, and continue issuing Aeroplan credit cards as a secondary issuer to TD.[45][46] In October 2019, CIBC partnered withParkland Corporation on its Journie Rewards program forChevron,Pioneer,Ultramar, and FasGas Plus.[47]
CIBC is an industry partner of theUniversity of Waterloo Stratford Campus.[48]
As the successor of Privatebank, CIBC USA is a sponsor ofChicago Fire FC.[49]
CIBC has supportedThompson Rivers University (TRU) for multiple years. CIBC has supported TRU students by providing financial awards, co-operative education programs, employment, and training positions. CIBC staff have also volunteered time to mentor TRU students. In return, TRU recognized CIBC as a distinguished alumni in 2014, awarding them with the Milestone Achievement Award for their contribution to TRU students and alumni.[50]
CIBC is also a sponsor of theNorthern Super League, Canada's top women's soccer league.
A former employee embezzled several million dollars of CIBC funds during the 1970s and 1980s as part of a gambling related conspiracy.[51]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(December 2022) |
In June 2007, Dara Fresco, a Toronto teller, along with current and former non-management, non-unionized employees, who are or were tellers and other front-line customer service employees, working within Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's (CIBC) various retail branch offices across Canada; brought on a $600 million class-action lawsuit against their employer, CIBC, in regards to lack of overtime pay.Fresco v Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce alleges that class members are assigned heavier workloads than could be completed within their standard working hours. They were required or permitted to work overtime to meet the demands of their jobs and CIBC failed to pay for the overtime work in direct contravention of theCanada Labour Code under which they are regulated.[52]
The Ontario Superior Court dismissed the suit June 18, 2012, stating the evidence "provides no basis that there was, in fact, a systemic practice of unpaid overtime at CIBC."[53] An employee of the Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank) filed a similar suit which the Superior Court certified. Fresco and Scotiabank each appealed their adverse, and contradictory, rulings and theOntario Court of Appeal ruled that both cases could proceed.[54] Both banks appealed to theSupreme Court of Canada which on March 21, 2013, denied their requests and allowed the lawsuits to proceed.[55]
In March 2020, theOntario Superior Court of Justice granted summary judgment against CIBC, finding that its overtime and hours-of-work recording practices breached its overtime obligations to about 31,000 current and former employees.[56] The court found that CIBC's practice of not recording actual overtime hours and requiring managerial pre-approval for overtime pay was too restrictive and violated Labour Code provisions requiring overtime pay if employers "require or permit" it.[57] In February 2022, theCourt of Appeal for Ontario denied an appeal by CIBC and upheld the Superior Court's decision.[57] If not appealed, hearings to determine the quantum of damages are scheduled for September 2022.[57] In January 2023, CIBC chose to pay CA$153 million to settle the suit.[58]
On December 22, 2003, theU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined CIBC US$80 million for its role in the manipulation ofEnron financial statements. This consists of $37.5 million to repay ill-gotten gains, a $37.5 million penalty and $5 million in interest. The money is intended to be returned to Enron fraud victims pursuant to the Fair Fund provisions of Section 308(a) of theSarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002.[59]
The SEC also sued three of CIBC's executives. CIBC Executive Vice President Daniel Ferguson and former CIBC executive director Mark Wolf agreed to settle for US$563,000 and US$60,000, respectively. Ian Schottlaender, former managing director in CIBC's corporate leveraged finance group in New York initially contested the charges[60] but on July 12, 2004, he agreed to pay US$528,750 as well as be barred from serving as an officer or director of a publicly traded company for a period of five years.[61] Under these agreements the individuals neither admit nor deny wrongdoing.
The SEC complaint charges "CIBC and the three executives with having helped Enron to mislead its investors through a series of complexstructured finance transactions over a period of several years preceding Enron's bankruptcy." The agreement reached between the SEC and CIBC permanently enjoins CIBC from violating the antifraud, books and records, and internal control provisions of the federal securities laws.[59][60]
On August 2, 2005, CIBC paid US$2.4 billion to settle a class action lawsuit brought by a group of pension funds and investment managers, including the University of California, which claims that "systematic fraud by Enron and its officers led to the loss of billions and the collapse of the company."[62]
On July 25, 2005, CIBC confirmed it would pay US$125 million to settle an investigation into its role in the2003 mutual fund scandal. Linda Chatman Thomsen, director of the SEC's division of enforcement, said, "by knowingly financing customers' late trading and market timing, as well as providing financing in amounts far greater than the law allows, CIHI and World Markets boosted their customers' trading profits at the expense of long-term mutual fund shareholders."[63] Under the settlement, CIBC neither admitted nor denied the allegations.[64]
On April 18, 2005, theprivacy commissioner of Canada expressed disappointment in the way CIBC dealt with incidents involving the bank misdirecting faxes containing customers' personal information.[65] One involved misdirecting faxes to a scrap yard operator in West Virginia from 2001 to 2004. The misdirected faxes contained the social insurance numbers, home addresses, phone numbers, and detailed bank account data of several hundred bank customers.[66]
The second incident involved aDorval businessman and allegedly took place from 2000 to 2004. In both cases, the commissioner noted that the bank did not inform the affected clients, whose personal information was compromised, until the incidents became public and an investigation was underway.[67]
Within days of reports byCTV News andThe Globe and Mail, CIBC management announced a directive that banned employees from using fax machines to transmit any documents containing confidential customer information.[68]
On January 18, 2007, CIBC Asset Management announced that the personal information of about 470,000 current and former clients of Talvest Mutual Funds, a CIBC subsidiary, had gone missing. The information may have included client names, addresses, signatures, dates of birth, bank account numbers, beneficiary information and/or social insurance numbers.[69] The incident stemmed from the disappearance of a hard drive containing information on "the process used to open and administer" customer accounts as it was traveling between the bank's Montreal and Toronto offices.[70] The privacy commissioner of Canada stated, "Although I appreciate that the bank notified us of this incident and that it is working cooperatively with my Office, I am nevertheless deeply troubled, especially given the magnitude of this breach, which puts at risk the personal information of hundreds of thousands of Canadians." She immediately launched a privacy investigation.[71]
On August 27, 2004, CIBC confirmed that it would settle a class-action lawsuit on behalf of CIBC Visa cardholders. The plaintiffs alleged that the conversion of foreign-currency transactions resulted in an undisclosed or inadequately disclosed mark-up. After approval by anOntario Superior Court judge, CIBC announced October 15, 2004, that the settlement would result in the bank paying CA$13.85 million to its cardholders, $1 million to theUnited Way, $1.65 million to the Class Action Fund of theLaw Society of Upper Canada, and $3 million in legal fees. The bank also announced that it has not admitted any liability and is settling to avoid further litigation with its cardholders.[72]
On May 20, 2004, CIBC announced that it would refund CA$24 million to some of its customers as a result of erroneous overdraft and mortgage charges which were discovered in the course of an internal review. "This is being done as part of CIBC's effort to correct its error and to ensure that it distributes to customers all of the money it received in error," the bank said.[73]
In a similar incident, CIBC announced April 27, 2006 that it's refunding an additional CA$27 million to about 200,000 clients who were overcharged for certain overdraft fees and other borrowing transactions, some of which date back to 1993. In cases where clients were undercharged, the bank decided not to seek reimbursement.[74]
On 27 May 2022, CIBC's London, UK office was sued after Zhuofang Wei, a former executive of the firm, accused the managers of sexual and racial discrimination. This is after the former executive was dismissed in March 2020 due to her objection of taking a new role without a pay increase. Wei sued CIBC for 800,000 pounds or $1million for lost earnings and damages.[75] CIBC successfully defended the case, however the court was heavily critical of the conduct of senior members of CIBC London's management team.
In 2023, CIBC was fined CA$1.3 million byFinancial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada for "non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures".[76]
On June 1, 1961, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was formed through the merger of The Canadian Bank of Commerce and the Imperial Bank of Canada.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was founded on June 1, 1961 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.
It was created through the 1961 merger of two Ontario-based banks, the Canadian Bank of Commerce and the Imperial Bank of Canada, the largest merger of two chartered banks in Canada's history.
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