The 'Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce' , better known to most customers as 'CIBC', is one of
Canada's major
banks. CIBC is classified as a Domestic Chartered Bank (Schedule I). With its headquarters in
Toronto, Ontario, it also operates in the
United States, the
Caribbean,
Asia and the
United Kingdom. CIBC provides a full range of products and services to more than 11 million clients. It is currently
Canada's fifth largest chartered bank and has a worldwide workforce of 37,000 employees.
Current operations
Company divisions
CIBC has two main operational divisions:
★
CIBC Retail Markets
★
CIBC World Markets
Within the divisions are functional divisions:
★ Treasury and Risk Management
★ Administration, Technology and Operations
★
Finance
★ Legal and Regulatory Compliance
★ Corporate Development
Operational facts
★ Total Employees (worldwide): 37,000
★ Total Branches (Canada): 1,055
★ Total
ABMs (Canada): 3,800
★ As of October 31, 2006, CIBC had assets of $304 billion
★ Market capitalization of $29.4 billion.
★ Revenue as of October 31, 2006 was $11.3 billion.
★ Net income for the year ended October 31, 2006 was $2.6 billion or $7.43 per share.
★ The CIBC group of companies contributed more than $36 million worldwide to charitable organizations and community initiatives. Of this, $28 million was invested in Canada, including more than $21 million in charitable donations, to support a wide variety of national, regional and local organizations in the areas of health, education, community, arts and culture, the environment and the
United Way.
Memberships
CIBC is a member of the
Canadian Bankers Association '(CBA)' and registered member with the
Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation '(CDIC)', a federal agency insuring deposits at all of Canada's chartered banks. It is also a member of:
★
Interac
★
VISA International Network
★
Aeroplan Rewards
★
Plus Network for VISA and bank cards
Current events
La Tour CIBC from the east in downtown
Montreal.
;
★
Li Ka Shing, Hong Kong billionaire was the largest foreign shareholder in the bank for over two decades, but in early 2005 he sold his portion (est. C$1.2 billion) to establish a
Canadian charity, the Li Ka Shing Foundation. CIBC was Mr. Li's choice for financing many of his
Canadian ventures, like
Husky Energy. Mr. Li had reportedly backed personal and commercial banking head
Holger Kluge to succeed
Al Flood as CEO of CIBC in 1999.
★ 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. 1999 saw a competition between Wood Gundy (now CIBC World Markets) chief
John S. Hunkin and Personal/Commercial banking head
Holger Kluge, with Kluge departing the firm after Hunkin was selected. 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 given up their bonuses in 2002 after that year produced the worse results in the history of CIBC). 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 a lawsuit.
[1][2] Gerald T. McCaughey was named as Kassie's replacement for World Markets. Not long after he was promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer, assuring his succession to CEO,
Jill Denham, Vice Chair of Retail Markets and a potential candidate for the CEO post, was reportedly dismissed by McCaughey. Denham was reported close to Hunkin and Kassie and McCaughey wanted to build his own senior executive team.
[3]
★ CIBC announced a US$2.4 billion payout agreement in principle to settle the Enron class action litigation on behalf of Enron security purchasers on August
2005, but this led to a drop in share prices and outcry from the bank's shareholders. Some demand former chief executive
John S. Hunkin to pay back some of his bonuses and shares in light of this large fine payout. CBC News reported that Hunkin is on vacation in
Chester,
Nova Scotia and avoiding all questions relating to Enron.
★ Interestingly, in 2005, CIBC stock had a roller-coaster ride. It starting the year at $70 per share when Li Ka Shing sold his stake and steadily rose to $80. It dropped to $70 upon the announcement of the Enron settlement. However, it had recovered to over $80 at the end of the year.
★ CIBC participates in a number of local events across Canada and globally. One of their better known promotional programs is the 'CIBC Run for the Cure' which raises money for
breast cancer research with the
Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. The 15th Annual Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure on October 1, 2006 raised $23.4 million nationwide.
★ In March 2006, CIBC officials announced their intention of buying majority control of their publicly held
Caribbean joint venture the
FirstCaribbean International Bank. The deal costing just over US$1billion (
Bds$2 billion) was mainly to purchase the 43.7% stake held by
Barclays Bank PLC. Upon closure of the deal, the top four Caribbean commercial banks have largely been consolidated to a top three, with those being
Scotiabank, the
FirstCaribbean International Bank, and the
Royal Bank of Canada with varied fourth-place banks varying in each territory. The deal was closed on December 23rd, 2006.
★ In January, 2007 it was
confirmed after much
speculation that CIBC was considering more buyouts in the Caribbean region. For the first two weeks of 2007 rumours were raised that CIBC was seeking to buy a second
Caribbean-based bank of considerable size. The bank which CIBC is rumoured to be looking at is known as RBTT. Once a subsidiary of the
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), the
Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago was spun off upon RBC's exit from the Trinidad and Tobago market during the 1980's. Now as a separate entity, RBTT has become another regional giant bolstered by the lucrative liquid
natural gas industry located in
Trinidad and Tobago. Any such deal would give CIBC a new sizeable foothold in the second largest English-speaking country (behind only Jamaica) in the Caribbean region.
★ In February, 2007 CIBC Capital Partners led a $10 Million (U.S.) investment round in privately held
Skybitz.
★ The stock ticker symbol on the
New York Stock Exchange was changed in 2006 from ''BCM'' to ''CM''. This is consistent with the ticker symbol on the
Toronto Stock Exchange.
★ CIBC sold their corporate and purchasing credit card business to
US Bank Canada in
October 2006. The buyer has previously acquired business charge cards from
RBC.
History
In
1867 the
Canadian Bank of Commerce opened in
Toronto with a charter in
1866 (purchased from the defunct Bank of Canada, which folded in
1858.
Imperial Bank of Canada opened a few years later in
1875, also in
Toronto. In
1961 the two banks merged to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and in
1962, opened a major new banking centre in
Montreal, Quebec with the construction of the
CIBC building.
CIBC was the first Canadian bank to introduce
bank machines, with the Automated Cash Dispenser in
1969. In
1988 CIBC moved into the investment market by purchasing
Wood Gundy Inc. In
1997 it moved to do the same in the United States by purchasing 'Oppenheimer & Co., Incorporated'.
Besides its Canadian operations, CIBC has operations globally. CIBC National Bank was established in the U.S. in
1999, but opened a foreign exchange office in New York in
1875 (Canadian Bank of Commerce), London in 1901 and in Asia (Hong Kong) in
1970.
Along with
Loblaws, CIBC helps operate
President's Choice Financial started in
1996.
CIBC is currently one of Canada's chartered banks, also referred to as the
Big Six banks.
CIBC and the Great Wars
During World War I and II, staff from the Canadian Bank of Commerce enlisted in the war effort:
Staff enlistment for:
★ World War I - 1,701
★ World War II - 2,300
A War Memorial at Commerce Court in
Toronto, Ontario commemorates their sacrifice.
Mergers
Canadian Bank of Commerce
'Halifax Banking Company -
1903'
Established in
1825 by Enos Collins with Hon. Henry H Cogswell as President from 1825-1834:
★ Robie Uniacke - President
1882-
1903
★ Horatio Newelham Wallace - Cashier
1892-
1903
'Gore Bank'
Formed in
1836 and merged with the Commerce in
1870:
★ Colonel James W Wythe - President
1836-
1839
★ Colin C Ferrie - President
1839-
1856
★ Andrew Steven - President
1856-
1861; Cashier
1836-
1856
★ Thomas Clark Street - President
1862-
1868; later Bank of Commerce Director
'Eastern Townships Bank'
Formed in
1859 and merged with the Commerce in
1912:
★ Colonel Benjamin Pomroy - President 1859-1874
★ Richard W Heneker - President 1874-1902
★ William Farnell - President 1902-1912
★ James MacKinnon - Cashier 1902-1912
'Bank of British Columbia'
Established with a Royal Charter in
1862 and merged with the Commerce in
1901:
★ Thomas W.L. Mackean - Chairman 1862-1876
★ Sir Robert Gillespie - Chairman 1876-1901
★ Eden Colville - Director 1876-1893
★ James Anderson - 1862-1897, Manager 1862, General Manager 1867-1875, Director 1876-1890
'Merchants Bank of Prince Edward Island'
Formed
1856 and merged with the Commerce in
1906:
★ W.A. Weekes 1864-1865
★ Robert Longsworth 1871-1882
★ Right Hon. Sir Louis Davies 1887-1897
★ Benjamin Heartz 1897-1904
★ W.A. Weekes 1904-1906
'Bank of Hamilton'
Bank of Hamilton merged with the Commerce in
1924.
'The Standard Bank of Canada' (changed to St Lawrence Bank 1872-1876) in
1876.
Merged with the Commerce in
1928.
Imperial Bank of Canada
★ Niagara District Bank 1875
★ Weyburn Security Bank 1931
★
Barclays Bank (Canada) 1956
CIBC 1961
★ Canadian Bank of Commerce
1867-
1961
★ Imperial Bank of Canada
1875-
1961
★ 'Wood Gundy Incorporated
1988' - forming CIBC Wood Gundy and renamed CIBC World Markets.
★ 'TAL Private Management'
1994-
2005 - formerly Timmins and Associates Ltd, merged with CIBC Investment Management Corporation in
1994, named changed to 'TAL Global Asset Management Incorporated' in
1998 and finally full acquired by CIBC in
2001. Rename to 'CIBC Asset Management' effective
January 1,
2006.
CIBC-TD Bank
There was an attempt by CIBC to merge with the
Toronto-Dominion Bank in the late 1990s. However, the
Government of Canada at the lead of then
Finance Minister Paul Martin blocked the merger from occurring.
Joint Ventures
★ CIBC Mellon Global Securities Services - formed by CIBC and Mellon Bank Corp of Pittsburgh PA 1996 and Canada Trust's (now TD Canada Trust) pension and custody business in 1997.
★ Canadian Eastern Finance Limited (CEF)- formed by CIBC and Hutchison Whampoa of Hong Kong; includes CEF Capital Limited, CEF Investment Management Limited.
★ President's Choice Financial - A joint venture between CIBC and Loblaw Companies Limited; PC Financial operates as a low cost 'virtual bank' serving nearly 3 million Canadians. Banking services such as deposit accounts, investments and credit products (excluding Mastercard) are provided by CIBC Direct Banking, formerly Amicus Bank. Other services, including credit cards, and PC points are issued/provided by a subsidiary of LCL, President's Choice Bank. In 2005 Amicus was dissolved as a separate legal entity and moved under retail markets as 'CIBC Direct Banking'.
★ Amicus FSB - A similar setup as President's Choice Financial, it was created in 1999 in the United States with Winn Dixie and Safeway Stores under the Marketplace Bank and Safeway Select Bank brands, but it has since been disbanded in 2002 and sold to E
★ Trade Bank.
★ Soltrus Inc 2001 - provider of digital trust services for businesses and consumers to communicate and transact over digital networks owned by CIBC, Telus Corp and VeriSign Inc.
★ Aplettix Inc 2000 - firm specializing in secure transaction systems in the banking sector. CIBC signed an agreement with the New York based firm in 2000, but the project was later abandoned for alternatives such as VeriSign.
★ Canadian Defence Community Banking - CIBC and the Department of National Defence have worked together to develop Canadian Defence Community Banking, a banking program created specifically to meet the unique needs of the Canadian military community. Services are provided by the direct banking division of CIBC, a new combination of direct and traditional banking.
Sell Off/Restructuring/Outsourcing
★ 'EDULINX Canada Corporation': Established in 1999, it was sold to Nelnet Canada Inc, the Canadian unit of
Nelnet, Inc. of the U.S., in late 2004.
★ '
FirstCaribbean International Bank': Formed by CIBC with 'Barclays Bank' in 2002, it replaces prior venture CIBC West Indies Holdings Limited's operations. After a
Barclays Bank stake-buyout by CIBC in 2006, CIBC now owns close to 92% of FirstCaribbean International Bank.
[4] With 8% minority share ownership.
★
HP Intria Items ('Intria Corp'): Formed by CIBC with Hewlett Packard and Fiserv Canada in
1996. In
2005, CIBC acquired the remaining shares from Fiserv and Intria becomes a unit of
CIBC.
★ 'Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club': Founding owners of the MLB team in 1977 and had a 10% stake with majority owner Labatt's Breweries (later acquired by InterBrew NV) and sold to Rogers Media in 2000.
★ 'TSYS' In 2002 a 10 year agreement was signed with 'Total Systems Services Inc' of Columbus GA to outsource credit card processing operations.
★ 'CIBC Leadership Centre': In 2001, the King City facility was sold to 'Benchmark Hospitality' as the bank began to divest real estate or investment in areas outside of its business strategies.
★ 'Juniper Financial Corporation': The bank acquired the Wilmington DE credit card issuer 2001 and sold to Barclays Bank in 2004.
Scandals
2003 Enron Scandal
On December 22, 2003, the
Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined CIBC US$ 80 million for its role in the manipulation of
Enron financial statements. This consists of $37.5 million to repay ill-gotten gains, a $37.5 million penalty and $5 million in interest. The money is intended to be returned to Enron fraud victims pursuant to the Fair Fund provisions of Section 308(a) of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
[5]
The SEC also sued three of CIBC's executives. CIBC Executive Vice President Daniel Ferguson and former CIBC Executive Director Mark Wolf agreed to settle for US$ 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
[6] 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.
[7] Under these agreements the individuals neither admit nor deny wrongdoing.
The SEC complaint charges that "CIBC and the three executives with having helped Enron to mislead its investors through a series of complex structured 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.
[8] [9]
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."
[10]
2003 Market Timing Scandal
On July 25, 2005 CIBC confirmed it would pay US$ 125 million to settle an investigation into it's role in the
2003 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."
[11] Under the settlement, CIBC neither admits nor denies the allegations.
Corporate governance
Bank Executives
★
Gerald T. McCaughey - President and CEO
★
Brian Shaw - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, CIBC World Markets
★
Sonia Baxendale - Senior Executive Vice-President, CIBC Retail Markets & Wealth Management
★ Ron Lalonde - Senior Executive Vice-President, Administration, Technology & Operations
★
Richard E. Venn - Senior Executive Vice-President, Corporate Development, CIBC, Managing Director and Deputy Chairman, CIBC World Markets Inc.
★ Tom Woods - Senior Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, CIBC
Current members of the
board of directors of the company are:
★
Brent Belzberg
★
Jalynn Bennett
★
Gary Cotler
★
Pat Delbridge
★ William Duke
★
Ivan Duvar
★
William Etherington
★
Margot Franssen
★
Gordon Giffin
★
Linda Hasenfratz
★
John Lacey
★
John Manley
★
Gerald McCaughey
★
Leslie Rahl
★
Charles Sirois
★
Stephen Snyder
★
Cynthia Trudell
★
Ronald Tysoe
Past Presidents/CEO/Chairman
'Canadian Bank of Commerce'
'Presidents'
★ Hon.
William McMaster 1867-1886 - founder of the Canadian Bank of Commerce, Liberal Senator 1867-1887 and founder of
McMaster University, former
Bank of Montreal director 1864-1867
★ '
Sir John Aird' 1924-1929 - Chairman of the
Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting
★ Sir
Byron Edmund Walker 1907-1924
★ James Stewart CBE
★ William M. Currie
★ Neil McKinnon - President 1956-1961
'Vice-Presidents'
★
Robert Winters 1968-1969
'Imperial Bank of Canada'
'Presidents'
★
Henry Stark Howland 1875-1889 - founder and former Bank of Commerce VP 1867-1875; former reeve and postmaster for the Village of
Kleinburg 1859-1860, York County Warden .
★
George Albertus Cox 1890-1896 - Liberal Senator 1896-1914
'Chairmen'
★ Lindsay Stuart Mackersy MC 1961-? - First President of CIBC
'Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce'
'Presidents'
★ Lindsay Stuart Mackersy MC 1961-? - Former Chairman of Imperial Bank of Canada
★ John S. Hunkin 1999-2004
'Chairs'
★ Russell Harrison
★ Neil MacKinnon
★ Donald S Fullerton
★ A.L. Flood CM - 1988-1998
★ John Hunkin - 1999-2003
★ Bill Etherington - 2003-present
'CEOs'
★ John S. Hunkin - Chief Executive Officer 2004-2005; President and CEO of CIBC 1999-2004; CEO and President of CIBC World Markets 1990-1992, President of Investment and Corporate Banking - CIBC Wood Gundy 1992-1997, President of Investment and Corporate Banking - CIBC World Markets 1997-1999.
Who's Who
A list of famous and not so famous staff from the past:
★ John S. Hunkin - CEO of CIBC
★ Jill Denham - EVP Wealth Management
★
Holger Kluge - CIBC EVP
★
Robert W. Service, poet and former clerk with Canadian Bank of Commerce
★
George Herbert Wood and
James Henry Gundy - founders of Wood Gundy Incorporated
★
William McMaster - founder of the Canadian Bank of Commerce
★
Paul S. Cantor - member of the Board of Directors of CIBC
★
David Kassie - former CEO of CIBC World Markets and now CEO of Genuity Capital Markets
★
Brian Molony - former assistant bank manager who stole more than 9 million U.S. dollars from CIBC and lost all of it gambling.
★
Robert Winters - former CIBC Vice-President and federal cabinet minister under
Pierre Trudeau
★
A.L. Flood - former CIBC chair
References
★ ''A History of the Canadian Bank of Commerce'' by Victor Ross (1920-1934)
Unionization
Currently only VISA centre staff and select branches are unionized. The Sudbury branch staff are part of the powerful
United Steelworkers union.
Significant buildings occupied by CIBC
★
Tour CIBC
★
Commerce Court
★
2 Bloor Street West
★
20 Exchange Place-CIBC Building, New York
★
CIBC 750 Lawrence
External links
★ Company sites:
★
★
CIBC Official Website
★
★
CIBC Mortgages and CIBC Trust
★
★
FirstCaribbean International Bank (CIBC-Caribbean Region)
★
★
President's Choice Financial Home Page
★
★
FirstLine Mortgages
★
★
Canadian Defence Community Banking
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