Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce at Barclays Global Financial Services Conference Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Services Corp - Analyst : All right. Great. I think that's a nice segue kind of into our next question and shift to focus towards CIBC specifically, maybe dig into your ROE. You kind of changed your ROE target at the end of last year, and you're almost there. What factors would drive you to consider reupping it to a higher target kind of given your progress this year?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Services Corp - Analyst : Great. Now turning to credit. Canadian real estate secured lending remains a large portion of the loan portfolio. As mortgage renewals increase and the pace of rate cuts from the Bank of Canada has slowed, though may increase -- do you have any concerns with this portfolio?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Services Corp - Analyst : Outside of real estate secured lending, credit metrics in cards and personal lending remained healthy in 3Q. I mean given the recent trends in unemployment, are you seeing anything in Canadian consumer lending that would cause you to be concerned? What measures are you taking to mitigate potential increases in delinquency?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Services Corp - Analyst : One of the major drivers of CIBC's performance over the last year or so has been kind of a material expansion in the net interest margin, both Canadian personal and commercial as well as U.S. commercial wealth. Maybe can you talk about like help us understand some of the drivers to this expansion? Do you think you still have room to grow in this environment?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Services Corp - Analyst : Great. In 3Q, commercial loan growth in Canada was relatively healthy. Which areas do you see the best opportunity? Are you seeing the growth opportunity in commercial real estate as well? How would you assess the risk associated with your commercial loan exposure to the current economic environment?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Services Corp - Analyst : Okay. Great. The Wealth Management segment also showed continued momentum in assets under management and administration, you expect to continue to take share in and would you consider acquisitions or strategic partnerships to further expand the business?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Services Corp - Analyst : Okay. Then maybe also moving on to the capital markets business. Despite increased economic uncertainty, revenues in the capital markets business, both investment banking trading have been strong in the last few quarters. Do you expect this trend to continue in the near future?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Services Corp - Analyst : All right. Great. And then moving from revenues to kind of expenses. In terms of operating leverage, what leverage do you have to continue generating positive operating leverage? Or are you looking to make additional investments? And where do you stand compared to competitors on technology investments?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Services Corp - Analyst : And speaking further on expenses, CIBC highlighted increased digital adoption and productivity gains through its AI platform. How do you plan to leverage this trend to improve operational efficiency and customer experience? And what new digital capabilities do you expect to roll out in the coming quarters?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Services Corp - Analyst : Now moving on to capital. Even after 5.5 million share repurchases in 3Q, CET1 ratio remains relatively strong at 13.4%. How do you plan to deploy excess capital in the coming quarters? And are you looking to accelerate the buyback?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Services Corp - Analyst : All right. I just want to quickly touch on maybe the management transition. CIBC made significant strategic progress on the current CEO of Victor Dodig leadership. How is the current transition to Harry Culham going? And should we expect to see any strategic changes, priorities or capital allocation?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Services Corp - Analyst : To close off, I just want to give you the final word, CIBC has delivered a run of solid results driven by steady execution. How confident are you about achieving your key financial targets, including 7% to 10% earnings growth, 15%-plus ROE as you head into fiscal 2026?

Question: Brian Morton - Barclays Services Corp - Analyst : Great. We have a quick minute left, if anyone opened the floor if anyone has any questions. All right. Please join me in thanking Rob for his presentation today.