CIBC CEO Harry Culham Targets 15%+ ROE, Lower Costs and Faster Execution at Conference

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE:CM) CEO Harry Culham used a conference appearance to emphasize strategic continuity following his recent leadership transition, while outlining areas of execution focus aimed at improving efficiency, sustaining growth, and delivering returns “north of 15%” in return on equity (ROE).

Leadership transition framed as continuity with an emphasis on execution

Culham said the transition differs from other CEO changes because he has spent “well over a decade” on CIBC’s executive team, including leading strategy and corporate development. He described a leadership group that has worked closely together for many years, which he said supports consistency in strategy and execution.

Rather than signaling a strategic reset, Culham said the bank is focused on “acceleration of that execution,” noting that management engaged with stakeholders including clients, employees, regulators, and shareholders during the transition. He said CIBC is aiming to drive results “with predictability.”

Execution “enablers”: client focus, modernization, and human capital

Asked what might change under his leadership after a record year, Culham pointed to increased attention on “enablers” that support strategy execution. He cited three primary areas:

• Client connectivity: Delivering “all of CIBC” to clients across the organization, with a heightened client focus.
• Modernization and efficiency: Using newer technologies to reduce costs and reinvest, with a stated goal of lowering the efficiency ratio over time.
• Human capital development: Ongoing talent development and productivity improvements as technology changes how work is done.

On restructuring, Culham noted that CIBC has not taken large restructuring charges and said management is “not in a hurry to take large charges.” He framed efficiency as a longer-term journey supported by continuous evaluation of talent and productivity gains from technology, including AI and data tools.

He also said the bank invests heavily in technology and related capabilities, estimating that CIBC invests “close to 20%” of its expense base in technology systems, data, and AI. He said that as revenue grows, these investments should help the efficiency ratio move lower and ROE move higher.

Retail growth priorities: Imperial Service, Costco partnership, and “everyday banking”

Culham highlighted Imperial Service as a “premium offering” for the mass affluent segment, calling it a key part of the bank’s strategy focused on mass affluent and private wealth. He said roughly 10% of CIBC’s core retail client base is in Imperial Service, totaling “about a million clients.”

He said revenue per Imperial Service client is about “5x” that of a core retail client and that Imperial Service clients have about “10x” the assets of core clients. Culham said the bank sees an opportunity to “double the size” of Imperial Service, in part by using data and AI to identify assets held outside the bank by existing clients.

On advisor coverage, he said CIBC has about 2,250 financial advisors and 1,200–1,300 associate financial advisors, and he outlined a productivity goal: increasing the number of clients an advisor can cover by about 30% over the next year or two through technology and data tools, rather than doubling the advisor headcount.

Culham also discussed the bank’s Costco partnership, calling it a “fantastic” and “long-term” relationship. He said CIBC has more than 3 million Costco credit card clients and has “franchised almost 10%” of those clients, adding that almost 10% of the franchised clients are Imperial Service clients. He said the bank has taken in “CAD 15 billion+” in assets over roughly the past year to year and a half from the partnership, and he described further opportunity among additional Costco members, though he did not provide specific targets.

On mortgages, Culham said mortgages remain important to clients but described a shift toward deeper relationships and “everyday banking” products such as checking, credit cards, and investments, where margins are higher. He also noted that the mortgage broker market represents more than half of the market, which he characterized as generating less-deep relationships and lower margins versus mortgages originated within the bank’s relationship base.

Commercial banking, capital markets, and U.S. strategy

Culham attributed CIBC’s commercial banking growth to relationship depth and cross-selling across the franchise, including wealth management. He said about a third of commercial clients have a wealth relationship with the bank, and he pointed to referrals both in Canada and increasingly in the U.S. Looking to 2026, he said the bank expects deposits to grow faster than lending, driven by investments in cash management platforms and better use of client data to bring a broader suite of services to commercial clients.

In capital markets, Culham said the business has delivered results consistent with, and beyond, targets discussed at a 2022 investor day. He cited capital markets earnings growth at the higher end of a 7%–10% range, with growth “above 10% in the U.S.” He also said CIBC has delivered higher pre-provision, pre-tax earnings growth than peers “on Bay Street” over the last 10 years and cited capital markets ROE “in the 20s” in recent years.

He credited performance to strict resource discipline—tracking resources by client, product, and region—and said the bank is extending that discipline across the broader organization. In the U.S., Culham said the bank is pursuing an “organic build” rather than being “all things to all people.” He said CIBC is seeing outsized growth opportunities in the U.S. and described the start to 2026 as “incredible,” similar to the end of 2025. He added that senior hiring is tightly controlled to protect culture, describing a process that can involve extensive interviews.

On the broader U.S. business, Culham discussed the bank’s prior acquisitions, including The PrivateBank in 2017 and Atlantic Trust earlier, and said CIBC has invested heavily to build a commercial and wealth foundation. He said referral volume in the U.S. is currently lower than in Canada but that management sees an opportunity to increase it over time. He also said CIBC has nine branches in the Chicago area and is focused on serving a mass affluent and wealth client base with technology capabilities. While he said “tuck-ins” are possible, he stated the bank is not looking to make a “big inorganic splash.”

Credit quality outlook and capital positioning

On credit, Culham referenced comments from CIBC’s risk leadership indicating confidence in credit quality, including an expectation for “mid- to lower-30s” in gross impaired loans in 2026, which he characterized as a slight improvement from 2025. He acknowledged some delinquency pressure in mortgages and credit cards but said it remains manageable.

He also cited low mortgage losses in 2025—“in the neighborhood of CAD 10 million”—and pointed to loan-to-value levels as a factor that provides comfort on loss severity. In credit cards, he said the portfolio is “premium,” including Costco exposure, and noted that Costco-related balances represent about a third of overall outstandings.

Looking further out, Culham said historical provision levels could suggest a “25–30” range is possible over time, though he emphasized that external factors such as unemployment will influence outcomes. He also said the bank expects U.S. loan losses to move lower over time as industry provisioning normalizes, which he said could support ROE as the U.S. platform scales.

On capital, Culham said the bank targets roughly 100 basis points above the minimum requirement, putting the level at 12.5%, while noting peers are generally “in the sort of 13s” currently. He said CIBC has “ample capital” and is generating capital at roughly “10 basis points a quarter.” He added that the bank has targeted ROE of 15%+ and expects to be able to deliver that at current capital levels, with capital likely to remain around those levels for some time given economic uncertainty.

In closing remarks, Culham reiterated that CIBC’s aligned leadership team is focused on client connectivity, modernization, and investing in people and technology, with an emphasis on accelerating execution. He said management is working toward 7%–10% earnings per share growth “plus” in the current environment and ROE “north of 15%+,” with the aim of improving total shareholder return through consistent, sustainable, and predictable performance.

About Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE:CM)

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE: CM), commonly known as CIBC, is a major Canadian financial institution headquartered in Toronto. Formed in 1961 through the merger of the Canadian Bank of Commerce and the Imperial Bank of Canada, CIBC is one of Canada’s largest banks and provides a broad range of banking and financial services to retail, small business, commercial and institutional clients.

CIBC’s activities span personal and business banking, wealth management, capital markets and corporate banking.