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Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce CM-T reported an 18-per-cent drop in fiscal fourth-quarter profit and raised its dividend as the bank was hit by higher expenses and loan loss provisions.
The Toronto-based bank is the fourth major lender to report earnings for the quarter that ended Oct. 31, and the second to fall short of analysts’ profits estimate, along with National Bank of Canada. Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Nova Scotia both reported earnings that were ahead of expectations.
CIBC earned $1.19-billion, or $1.26 per share, in the fourth quarter. That compared with $1.44-billion, or $1.54 per share, a year earlier.
The bank’s results included several special charges, including a $91-million increase in legal provisions, a $37-million charge from consolidating its real estate portfolio, and $12-million of costs related to the bank’s acquisition of the credit card portfolio of retailer Costco in Canada.
Adjusted to exclude those items, CIBC said it earned $1.39 per share. That was far shy of analysts’ estimate of $1.72 per share, according to Refinitiv.
CIBC raised its quarterly dividend by two cents to 85 cents per share.
For the full fiscal year, CIBC’s profit fell 3 per cent to $6.2-billion.
In the fourth quarter, CIBC took $436-million of provisions for credit losses – the money banks set aside in case loans go bad. That was a significant increase from a year earlier, with $305-million of that total attributed to the bank’s personal and small business banking operations in Canada.
Some of the increase in provisions came from changes to the bank’s economic forecasts, which are more pessimistic. But CIBC also said it had higher write-offs and impaired balances in its retail portfolio.
Profit from Canadian personal and small business banking fell 21 per cent year over year to $471-million. Higher costs were a major factor, including expenses related to the Costco card portfolio acquisition, as well as higher employee compensation. Loan and deposit balances were up 10 per cent, but profit margins on loans fell five basis points from the previous quarter. (100 basis points equal one percentage point).
“CIBC had a big miss in the quarter and, while some of it related to higher provisions on performing loans, the bank’s domestic net interest margin contraction was disappointing,” said John Aiken, an analyst at Barclays Capital Inc., in a note to clients.
In the bank’s U.S. commercial banking and wealth management division, profit fell 37 per cent from a year ago, mainly driven by higher provisions for loan losses. Impaired loan balances were higher in the real estate and construction sector, as well as in oil and gas.
Profit from Canadian commercial banking and wealth was up modestly to $469-million, and capital markets profit was relatively unchanged year over year at $378-million.
