CIBC (TSX:CM) announced on Friday that it has acquired CIT Financial Ltd.’s stake in CIT Business Credit Canada Inc. to own 100% of the company.

CIT Business Credit was established in 2000 as a joint venture between CIBC and CIT Canada, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CIT Group Inc. CIT Business Credit combined CIBC’s commercial banking offerings with CIT’s asset-based lending capability customized for the Canadian marketplace.

CIT Business Credit Canada has been re-named CIBC Asset-Based Lending Inc. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“This transaction is consistent with CIBC’s priority to grow our business banking operations in Canada,” said Sonia Baxendale, president of CIBC Retail Markets. “We are acquiring full control of an organization we know well following our long relationship with CIT. We are very familiar with the clients, the assets and the quality of the portfolio.”

Asset-based financing offers clients customized loan arrangements secured by accounts receivable, inventories and fixed assets and can provide greater flexibility than lending based on cash flows.

“Asset-based lending is an expanding part of commercial lending in Canada as companies seek alternatives to traditional types of financing and we intend to devote the necessary resources to ensure CIBC Asset-Based Lending Inc. continues to grow and be successful,” added Baxendale. “Through this transaction, CIBC will be in a stronger position to offer a broader suite of financing options for our existing and prospective clients.”

This is the second acquisition announced by CIBC in the last two months. In March, CIBC said it had purchased a minority interest in Bermuda-based The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited.

IE