Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce will pay US$80 million to settle charges of aiding and abetting the Enron Corp. accounting fraud, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday.

The SEC alleged that between June 1998 and October 2001, CIBC and Enron structured 34 financings as “asset sales” for accounting and financial reporting purposes, allowing Enron to hide from investors and rating agencies the true extent of its borrowings.

The bank did not admit or deny the SEC allegations, but agreed to pay a US$37.5 million penalty, plus a $US37.5 million disgorgement and US$5 million in prejudgment interest.

Two of three bank executive sued by the SEC also agreed to a settlement. Daniel Ferguson and Mark Wolf will pay over US$600,000 in fines. A third bank employee, Ian Schottlaender is contesting the stock regulator’s allegations.

“Today’s action demonstrates that neither financial institutions nor their executives can hide behind the technical complexities of structured transactions to avoid responsibility for contributing to fraudulent accounting and manipulated financial results,” said Steve Cutler, director of the SEC’s enforcement division, in a news release.