CIBC goes south for growth

Article Excerpt

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, CIBC rapidly expanded its corporate banking operations in the U.S. However, this business suffered big losses, mainly due to its involvement with bankrupt energy company Enron. In 2005, the bank decided to exit the U.S. and instead focus on improving the profitability of its Canadian banking operations. That plan paid off. Now, 11 years later, CIBC is re-entering the U.S. with its purchase of PrivateBancorp. As a result, the U.S. will supply 10% of the bank’s earnings. The deal also positions CIBC to make more acquisitions; it aims to get 25% of its profits from the U.S. over the next five to seven years. CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE $101 (Toronto symbol CM; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 394.9 million; Market cap: $39.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.9; Dividend yield: 4.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.cibc.com) is Canada’s fifth-largest bank, with total assets of $494.5 billion. In the past few…