(March 2 – 11:10 ET) CIBC had strong first quarter results and is making good progress toward achieving its long-term financial targets, says bank chairman John Hunkin.
Net income for the first quarter was $451 million, up 38% from a year ago. Earnings per share were $1.06 and return on equity was 18.2%. These results reflect solid performance from all businesses, with particularly strong revenues from Wealth Management and CIBC World Markets, says Hunkin.
At quarter end, the market value of CIBC’s securities portfolio exceeded book value by $5.2 billion, an increase of $1.6 billion since last quarter. During the quarter, CIBC sold US$1 billion of unfunded credit commitments and repurchased 6.5 million common shares at an average price of $33.49 per share.
Revenue was strong this quarter at $2,779 million, up 14% from the prior quarter and up 13% from the first quarter of 1999. All business lines performed well on a year over year basis, with Wealth Management revenues particularly strong, up 39% from the first quarter of 1999, says Hunkin.
“We are making progress on our strategic growth initiatives. As a leader in electronic banking in Canada, CIBC now has more than 550,000 PC Banking customers and more than two million telephone banking customers. Our customer base, acquired through President’s Choice Financial continues to grow. In the U.S., CIBC has a similar relationship with Winn-Dixie, a major grocery retailer, to provide banking services under the banner Marketplace Bank. At the end of the first quarter we had 11 pavilions in Florida and plan to increase this number to 40 by the end of May. We expect to announce additional electronic banking alliances through the year,” says Hunkin.
-IE Staff