CIBC reported a jump in first-quarter profit compared with a year earlier, helped by its increased focus on wealthy clients and U.S. business.
The bank said Thursday it had net income of $3.10 billion for the quarter ended Jan. 31, up from $2.17 billion a year earlier, as all of its key divisions showed increased profits.
“Our performance reflects our momentum and the execution of our client-focused strategy,” said chief executive Harry Culham on an analyst call.
He said the bank’s first strategic priority is to grow its mass affluent and private wealth franchise, which is helping boost CIBC’s return-on-equity.
A second priority is digital-first personal banking, including what he said is a new digital banking platform in the U.S., while a third is its connected platform that he said is helping the bank expand its U.S. franchise.
“By connecting our commercial banking, wealth management, and capital markets teams, we have built a strong internal referral system across our businesses,” said Culham, who stepped into the CEO role in November.
The system has allowed a 23%Meanwhile, provision for credit losses on impaired loans was $326 million, up from $307 million, due to higher write-offs in credit cards and personal lending portfolios as well as higher impaired balances.pr boost to cross-business referrals in its U.S. commercial and wealth franchise compared with a year earlier, he said.
It’s part of wider growth of its U.S. operations that saw revenue and net income in its capital markets U.S. franchise rise 39% and 50%, respectively, from a year earlier.
The gains helped drive its overall capital markets business to report an $877 million profit in the quarter, up from $619 million a year earlier.
The bank said the U.S. now makes up just over a third of its capital markets revenue, roughly double where it was five years ago.
“We expect the rate of growth in U.S. capital markets will continue to outpace Canada and other regions over the medium term,” said Culham.
The bank also saw profits rise in its Canadian personal and business banking division, reporting a $960 million profit in the quarter that was up from $765 million a year earlier.
CIBC has seen delinquencies rise in its credit cards and residential mortgage portfolios but said it expects provisions for bad loans to stabilize this year despite trade headwinds.
“Our outlook assumes that trade deals extended, an outcome we strongly believe is in the best interest of the North American economy,” said Culham.
“We expect targeted fiscal policy relief for sectors affected by trade, as well as stimulative monetary policy to support moderate economic growth across our geographies in 2026.”
The bank’s provision for credit losses amounted to $568 million for the quarter, down from $573 million in the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, provision for credit losses on impaired loans was $326 million, up from $307 million, due to higher write-offs in credit cards and personal lending portfolios as well as higher impaired balances.
Revenue totalled $8.40 billion, up from $7.28 billion.
On an adjusted basis, CIBC says it earned $2.76 per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of $2.20 per diluted share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for an adjusted profit of $2.40 per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
Scotiabank analyst Mike Rizvanovic said the bank’s capital markets unit drove most of the outperformance, but it also showed strength in net interest margins, fee-based revenue and lending volume.
The bank’s Canadian commercial banking and wealth management business earned $647 million in the quarter, up from $591 million a year ago. Meanwhile, CIBC’s U.S. commercial banking and wealth management operations earned $294 million, up from $256 million in the same quarter last year.
CIBC’s Canadian wealth management business posted revenue of $1.2 billion for the quarter, up $162 million from the same period in 2025. This was due to higher fee-based revenue from higher average assets under administration and management, which was attributable to market appreciation, higher net interest income from volume growth and higher commission revenue from increased client activity.
As of Jan. 31, the bank had $4.1 trillion in assets under administration, up from $4 trillion at the same time last year. It also had $442 billion in assets under management, up from $431 billion.