Institution profile · Big Six bank (Schedule I)
CIBC
ActiveCanadian Imperial Bank of CommerceCDIC
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is a Big Six Schedule I bank headquartered in Toronto. It runs the Simplii Financial direct-banking division under the same CDIC membership.
Profile facts checked October 30, 2026
Mitey files the CIBC index card: cheapest everyday account $203 a year.
Is CIBC a good bank for everyday banking?
CIBC’s cheapest chequing account open to anyone, CIBC Smart Account, costs $203 a year for a typical household (25 debit purchases, 6 bills and 5 e-Transfers a month), $156 below the national median of $359. It scores 39.8/100, #11 of 13, in our bank review. Eligible deposits are CDIC-insured to $100,000 per category.
At a glance
- Legal name
- Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
- Type
- Big Six bank (Schedule I)
- Head office
- Toronto, ON
- Founded
- 1961 — Formed June 1, 1961 by the merger of The Canadian Bank of Commerce and Imperial Bank of Canada.
- Regulator
- Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) for safety and soundness; Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) for consumer protection
- Cheapest everyday account
- CIBC Smart Account — $203 a year for the Everyday example
- Best posted savings rate
- 0.3% on $10,000 (CIBC eAdvantage Savings Account)
- OBSI banking cases
- 1,013 opened in fiscal 2025 (Nov 1, 2024 – Oct 31, 2025)
- Website
- www.cibc.com
Is my money safe at CIBC?
CDIC member. Simplii Financial is a CIBC division, so Simplii and CIBC deposits share one set of CDIC limits.
Names CDIC lists for these members: CIBC, Renaissance, Simplii Financial, Wood Gundy, CIBC Mortgages, CIBC Trust.
Our assessment: 39.8/100, #11 of 13 in our bank review
Trails on savings rate and everyday cost. Cheapest account for everyday use: $203 a year.
Cost 44 · Savings rate 10 · App rating 61 · not scored: access, service. How the review works.
What do CIBC’s chequing accounts cost?
CIBC lists 2 chequing accounts with FCAC. For our “Everyday” example (25 debit purchases, 6 bills, 5 e-Transfers and a $1,000 low balance a month), the cheapest account open to anyone is CIBC Smart Account at $203 a year. Accounts limited to a group are marked.
| Account | Monthly fee and waiver | Included | Fees a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| CIBC Smart Account | $0.00–$16.95/mo, or $0 with a $4,000 minimum balance | Unlimited | $203 |
| CIBC Everyday Chequing Account | $4.00/mo, no balance waiver | 18 a month | $447 |
- CIBC Smart Account$203
- CIBC Everyday Chequing Account$447
- Cheapest in Canada: Personal Account · EQ Bank$0
- Median nationwide account$359
What would CIBC cost a typical household?
The cheapest CIBC account open to anyone for each of our four usage profiles, against the cheapest account in Canada for the same banking. Profiles are defined in the finder.
| Profile | Cheapest at CIBC | Fees/yr | Cheapest in Canada | Fees/yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light Mostly card and app, small balance | CIBC Everyday Chequing Account | $78 | PC Money Account PC Financial | $0 |
| Everyday Household account, a few e-Transfers | CIBC Smart Account | $203 | Personal Account EQ Bank | $0 |
| Heavy Lots of card, bill and e-Transfer payments | CIBC Smart Account | $227 | Personal Account EQ Bank | $0 |
| Branch and cheques Teller visits, cheques, paper statement | CIBC Everyday Chequing Account | $138 | Basic Bank Account Scotiabank | $134 |
Worked example — CIBC Smart Account (CIBC), Everyday profile
| Monthly fee (not waived: needs $4,000, $3,000 more than the $1,000 low balance) × 12 | $203.40 |
| Transactions beyond the included number (0 a month) × 12 | $0 |
| Other-bank ATM access fees (1 a month) × 12 | $0 |
| Paper statements × 12 | $0 |
| Fees a year | $203.40 |
What savings rates does CIBC pay?
| Account | Rate at $10,000 | Monthly fee |
|---|---|---|
| CIBC eAdvantage Savings Account | 0.3% | No monthly fee |
Is CIBC on the official lists?
| Legal entity | OSFI list | CDIC member |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce | OSFI — Schedule I domestic bank | Yes |
| CIBC Mortgages Inc. | OSFI — loan company | Yes |
| CIBC Trust Corporation | OSFI — trust company | Yes |
What else should you know about CIBC?
- Registered and head office at CIBC SQUARE, 81 Bay Street, Toronto.Source: cibc.com
- Created by the June 1, 1961 merger of The Canadian Bank of Commerce and Imperial Bank of Canada.Source: cibc.com
- Operates the Simplii Financial direct-banking division.Source: simplii.com
Your own pattern can change the order. Put your numbers into the true-cost finder to rank CIBC’s accounts against everyone else’s.
How many CIBC complaints reached the ombudsman?
OBSI, the ombudsman for banking, opened 1,013 banking cases about Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in fiscal 2025 (Nov 1, 2024 – Oct 31, 2025), closed 1,047, and resolved 280 to the complainant’s satisfaction. Across all banks and credit unions, OBSI opened 5,438 banking cases that year (+113% on the year before) and 25% of closed cases ended with money paid.
Counts aren’t adjusted for size, so bigger banks have more cases. A complaint reaches OBSI only after the bank’s own process (up to 56 days). Source: OBSI Annual Report 2025, released March 13, 2026. How to complain.
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