This profile is based on an interview with the bank’s retail banking leader, who didn’t receive advance access to the research in preparation for the calls. All six banks were offered interviews where they could share their strategies and insights with Investment Executive.
In Investment Executive’s Report Card on Banks, CIBC saw year-over-year improvement in its IE rating by retail branch advisors for 2025. That result came in at 9.3 out of 10 from 9.0 a year ago. In all but one of the past five Report Card on Banks, its IE rating has remained 9.0 or higher.
The increase over 2024 was driven by the average Imperial Service advisor rating their bank significantly higher (by 0.5 or more) in 11 of 22 categories in this report.
One third of that improvement was seen in the “bank culture” group of categories, relating to CIBC’s branch-level strategy and how well the business connects with its Imperial Service group.
Clients should enjoy “seamless experiences” with advisors, said Rory Mitz, senior vice-president, CIBC Imperial Service. To ensure this happens, the bank is not only investing in digital tools but also has aimed for more general “process improvement and simplification,” he added.
Its branch advisors are encouraged to think like business owners, Mitz said, which involves providing “open and honest feedback. … [We’re] encouraging our team to be part of the solution, to accelerate how we simplify process.”
All about “connectivity”
Proactively asking for this type of engagement translated to greater satisfaction among Imperial Service advisors in four of the six bank culture areas. They were significantly more optimistic this year than in 2024 about their “leadership team” as well as their bank’s “strategic focus,” “effectiveness in keeping advisors informed” and “receptiveness to advisor feedback.”
“I matter and I’m not just a number,” said an advisor with Imperial Service in Ontario. This advisor valued the “positive energy” of the leadership team plus their daily support when it came to understanding the overall business and getting client leads.
“[You’re] able to do the right thing for clients and help them with their plan, with the whole bank supporting you,” said another of the bank’s branch advisors, in British Columbia.
Mitz listed three guiding principles for the bank and its advisors. Alongside asking them to think like entrepreneurs, the bank’s branch-level business focuses on finding ways to effectively measure clients’ ambitions and improve systems.
The bank aims for a “culture of connectivity,” Mitz added. He said branch-level advisors can lean on partners across the bank’s wealth divisions, “to ensure that we’re always bringing the right expertise [to clients].”
An advisor in Alberta with Imperial Service cited clear communication across the bank, from “the top down.” They also liked the bank’s “client-first approach” since that aligned with their personal values.
It also helped in 2025 that the advisors interviewed felt consistently good about their pay alongside the bank’s culture: “I feel valued; [my] feedback is well received. Your performance is … recognized and you are rewarded accordingly,” said one advisor in Ontario.
This same advisor asked for technology advancements, though, saying it was the area where the bank could most improve. While IT support staff and software updates are available, they said, the bank maintaining the quality of its planning tools and digital infrastructure was important to them.
Technology tweaks
Mitz is listening and prioritizing technology — one factor that led to the bank’s significantly higher results this year for “client onboarding” (rated 9.0 from 8.5) and “general technology training & internal IT support” (8.8 from 8.3). CIBC also had consistently positive ratings in the other three technology suite categories, for its Imperial Service tools.
Through looking at data and AI tools and working on the banks’ digital systems generally, Mitz hopes to help retail branch advisors better understand their clients’ data, work more efficiently and deliver “best-in-class advice and recommendations.”
Imperial Service advisors use Salesforce, which incorporates their client-facing technologies. Advisors take part in feedback committees, allowing the bank to get real-time insight into which functionalities need work and how systems can evolve.
“We’re optimizing the adoption [rate] and the value of the technology,” he added, saying that new tools have revolved around advisors’ CRM, planning and product-recommendation needs.
Many of the bank’s Report Card respondents cited regular or constant system upgrades, and they felt this made their work easier. Others felt frustrated when switching between and learning new technologies, and when trying to seek guidance.
Even so, CIBC’s lowest category rating for 2025 was for “advisor’s experience with back-office tools & services.” That technology-related area was rated 8.4, up from 8.0 a year ago, with the Imperial Service advisors mainly requesting reduced wait times for getting help.
As new back-office staff are added, their learning curve can be an issue. “[There are] a lot of new people and, sometimes, we know more than them because we’ve been here for a long time,” said one advisor in Atlantic Canada.
An advisor in Alberta was realistic, saying CIBC overall is a “very large bank and [the] back office is a huge space. [It’s] hard to have 100% efficiency.”
Nonetheless, Mitz will focus on increased automation where it helps the retail branch advisors and their assistants. “We continually evaluate our team’s support needs and are making significant investments in improving our processes and unlocking front-line capacity,” he shared.
All but one of the CIBC advisors polled said the firm was actively investing in time-saving tools, with a broad range of functionalities mentioned. One advisor in Alberta felt positive about their ability to connect with clients, saying, “Everything is streamlined, everything is in one place. [There have been] technology improvements over the year.”