Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce at Scotiabank Financials Summit (Virtual) Transcript

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

Question: Meny Grauman - Scotiabank - Analyst : Victor, I wanted to start off with -- I think the question that is on everyone's mind, so maybe just as a preamble. I think when I look at the strides CIBC has made through the pandemic, I think they've been significant. You were aggressive in terms of the buildup of your reserves. You're proactive in terms of deferrals. And through the entire pandemic, which isn't a given, you've pushed the business strategically forward, in the mortgage business in particular. And really the question that a lot of investors have is, really, what comes next? With respect to that retail transformation, where's the focus going to shift now that mortgages are in a good place for you?

Question: Meny Grauman - Scotiabank - Analyst : In terms of products in that key retail business, can you talk a little bit about the strategy on cards specifically in on wealth? And is there anything else that is really important to highlight as you push that business forward?

Question: Meny Grauman - Scotiabank - Analyst : You talked about Costco's -- you went shopping at Costco last week and you picked up a portfolio. And I just wanted to delve a little bit deeper. I think you touched on it in terms of the importance of non-travel in particular, but the strategic rationale for the deal and some of the numbers around it in terms of capital impact, in earnings accretion.

Question: Meny Grauman - Scotiabank - Analyst : You highlighted that you won this business not on price alone, but definitely Costco is known as driving a very hard bargain in terms of all its suppliers -- financial services suppliers, not any exception. Can we assume that the fees you're earning on this business, just on the card portion alone, are relatively small? Is there anything you can add to that in terms of what that looks like?

Question: Meny Grauman - Scotiabank - Analyst : And just one final question on the Costco deal. It sounds like from what you're saying, that to really hit a homerun on this deal, it's really about the cross-sell. So I just want to see if you would agree with that and just sketch out the cross-selling opportunity a little more. I mean, you talked about it a little bit in terms of the affluent, mass affluent, but how do you execute on this kind of transaction to get that cross-sell?

Question: Meny Grauman - Scotiabank - Analyst : Victor, you announced that you're going to have an Investor Day -- an in-person Investor Day in December; that's your intention. I just wanted to -- I don't want to front-run the event, we'll have to stay tuned -- but just get a little bit of a teaser here in terms of why you feel an Investor Day is necessary now given the kind of year you've had, the successful year that you've had. And what kind of issues you are thinking about presenting to the investor community in December, which is, believe it or not, going to roll around pretty soon. So what's the (multiple speakers)? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. SEPTEMBER 09, 2021 / 2:30PM, CM.TO - Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce at Scotiabank Financials Summit (Virtual)

Question: Meny Grauman - Scotiabank - Analyst : Well, definitely looking forward to that. One question that comes up a lot with investors is a little bit of a bigger picture question. But it's just the question of, what does an investor get when they buy CIBC if they think about it from a thematic perspective? Maybe another way to put it is, ultimately, when you think about it, how is CIBC different from its peer group? And so why does an investor buy CIBC in the long run? How do you [answer that]?

Question: Meny Grauman - Scotiabank - Analyst : That's a very good synopsis. Just a follow-up, just in terms of that focus on innovation banking. Now I think you have a strong commercial business in the US now and investors are really appreciating that. But specifically when it comes to the tech side, it just seems like there's so much competition, so much money in that space. How does CIBC differentiate itself? How does CIBC stand out and succeed in that business? It sounds like the track record is building there, but how does that come together? Is it just you are making a bigger focus of this business or is there something else that's important to highlight?

Question: Meny Grauman - Scotiabank - Analyst : I wanted to follow-up in terms of the US business, that US commercial business is really performing at a very high level. Year-to-date, PTPP earnings growth, 26% off of leverage plus 10%. And just the question is, where does the business go from here? What's the next step in terms of the evolution of that US business -- the strategy there?

Question: Meny Grauman - Scotiabank - Analyst : So I wanted to jump off that. It definitely seems like the results are there, the investor base -- accounts I speak to definitely feel very good about that business. The question is, why not give them more? I know for a while now you've been very focused, very careful about talking about M&A in the US. But given your excess capital, given the success, why not go bigger? Isn't this an opportunity here to take the earnings contribution up beyond 25% in a more meaningful way relatively quickly and to just keep that momentum going to supercharge it even?

Question: Meny Grauman - Scotiabank - Analyst : In terms of just -- you talked about at the beginning in terms of your investors telling you before the pandemic, "Over the next crisis, that will be a real test". As you sit now, do you view that you've proven the naysayers wrong both domestically and even -- especially in the US where there was a lot of questions about how successful your strategy would be? What's your perspective on that? On some level, can you say mission accomplished here on both sides of the border?

Question: Meny Grauman - Scotiabank - Analyst : And in terms of the US strategy, I think it's very clear when you're talking, it's not a Midwest strategy; it's really a national strategy. So I just wanted to talk about how you view geography for your US business on the commercial side, on the private banking side. Are there any limitations in terms of where that business can stretch and go? And how do you see that evolving? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. SEPTEMBER 09, 2021 / 2:30PM, CM.TO - Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce at Scotiabank Financials Summit (Virtual)

Question: Meny Grauman - Scotiabank - Analyst : Well, Victor, I think we've come to an end. I think that's a good place to stop. And I just want to thank you for making the time to speak to me today. And again, looking forward to seeing you in person on December 9, if not sooner. Thank you.

Question: Meny Grauman - Scotiabank - Analyst : See you later.