CIBC reported a rise in fourth-quarter profit that beat analyst expectations despite a slight increase in troubled loans in its Canadian division.
The bank said it had net income of $2.18 billion in the quarter ended Oct. 31, up from $1.88 billion a year ago, as it raised its quarterly dividend to $1.07 per share from 97 cents per share.
The earnings were the last under the supervision of Victor Dodig, who retired as president and CEO at the end of the quarter, and the first to be reported under Harry Culham, who stepped into the role Nov. 1.
Culham signalled no big changes in his first analyst call as CEO on Thursday.
“Our strategy remains consistent. It is working, and we are committed to delivering on what we set out to achieve.”
The strategy has included pushing more into the mass affluent and private wealth franchise, as it also works to expand its U.S. footprint, both of which helped deliver higher earnings in the quarter.
Its Canadian wealth management revenue was up 18% in the quarter from a year earlier, while its capital markets division reported a 32% jump in revenue thanks in part to the push south.
“The U.S. now is roughly 34, 35% of the capital markets revenue,” said Christian Exshaw, who took on the role of group head of capital markets in November as part of the wider leadership shuffle.
“It’s roughly double what it was actually five years ago, and we continue to invest in this business. When you look at the corporate credit book, it actually generates now more revenue in the U.S. than it does in Canada.”
The bank continues to expand its U.S. footprint, said Exshaw, including work to diversify the revenue base.
“We have been playing catch up,” he said.
“We are building a number of businesses in the U.S. power trading, we’ve applied for primary dealership, we’re building a futures trading capability.”
The boost from U.S. activity helped offset a rise in provisions for potentially bad loans, which rose to $605 million in the quarter, up from $419 million a year ago.
This included $497 million in impaired provisions, the more serious category where the bank isn’t confident it will be paid back.
But looking ahead, the bank doesn’t see any big swings on provisions coming, despite continued trade uncertainty.
“Entering fiscal 2026, we expect impaired provisions to remain broadly stable in comparison to 2025,” said chief risk officer Frank Guse on the call.
“Our base case would say that the economic environment should strengthen throughout the year, and in particular in the back half of the year.”
And while 2025 was marked by economic uncertainty, CIBC still reported revenue for the year up 14% to $29.1 billion. Revenue for the fourth quarter totalled $7.58 billion, up from $6.62 billion.
Profit for the year totalled $8.45 billion, up 18% from a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, CIBC says it earned $2.21 per diluted share in the fourth quarter, up from an adjusted profit of $1.91 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.
Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of $2.08 per share, according to estimates compiled by LSEG Data & Analytics.
The beat was driven in part by growth in both net interest income and fee-based revenue, partially offset by slightly higher provisions, said Scotiabank analyst Mike Rizvanovic in a note.
CIBC also announced several senior executive changes Thursday that will be effective Jan. 1.
The bank said Sandy Sharman, senior executive vice-president and group head of people, culture and brand, will transition to the role of special adviser before retiring at the end of 2026.
It also said Christina Kramer, senior executive vice-president and chief administrative officer, will add responsibility for enterprise real estate, enterprise capabilities and organizational agility, brand, community investment, client experience, communications, and corporate events.
Richard Jardim will be appointed senior executive vice-president and chief technology and information officer, global technology, data and AI, while Yvonne Dimitroff will become executive vice-president and chief human resources officer, people, culture and talent.