CIBC raises dividend as wealth management net income up in Q3

CIBC raised its quarterly dividend as it reported a third-quarter profit of $1.37 billion and gains in its wealth management business.

The bank says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of $1.36 per share, up from $1.33.

The increased payment to shareholders came as CIBC says it earned $3.01 per diluted share for the quarter ended July 31 compared with a profit of $1.1 billion or $2.60 per share a year ago.

On an adjusted basis, CIBC says it earned $3.08 per diluted share for the quarter, up from an adjusted profit of $2.77 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of $2.94 per share for the quarter, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon.

Read: RBC reports Q3 profit, led by wealth management

Canadian commercial banking and wealth management earned $350 million, up 20% compared with a year ago. The increase was due to higher client assets in wealth management, the bank said in a release, as well as deposit and lending growth, higher fees and wider spreads in commercial banking.

U.S. commercial banking and wealth management earned $162 million, up $121 million (295%) compared with a year ago, boosted by its acquisition of PrivateBancorp.

CIBC chief executive Victor Dodig says the bank delivered solid performance across all of its businesses.

“We are executing well on our strategy to build a relationship-oriented bank for a modern world, while delivering strong and consistent returns and growth to shareholders,” Dodig said in a statement.

“We are pleased with the momentum that our North American platform is gaining as we find new ways to serve our clients on both sides of the border.”

The bank said its Canadian personal and small business banking group earned $639 million in the quarter, up 14% compared with the same quarter last year.

CIBC’s capital markets business earned $265 million for the third quarter, up 5% from the same quarter last year.

Provision for bad loans totalled $241 million, up $32 million from the third quarter last year.

The bank’s common equity tier 1 ratio or CET1—a key measure of financial health—was 11.3% compared with 10.4% a year ago.

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