page_title: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
section_title: Origins
hierarchical_section_title: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce / History / Origins
caption_attribution_description: Bank of Commerce building in Toronto, Canada. Now known as Commerce Court North.
context_page_description: The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, commonly referred to as CIBC, is one of the "Big Five" banks in Canada. The bank is headquartered at Commerce Court in Toronto, Ontario. CIBC's Institution Number is 010, and its SWIFT code is CIBCCATT. It is also one of the two major banks originally founded in Toronto alongside Toronto-Dominion Bank.
  The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was formed through the June 1, 1961, merger of the Canadian Bank of Commerce and the Imperial Bank of Canada, the largest merger between chartered banks in Canadian history.
  The bank has four strategic business units: Canadian Personal and Small Business Banking, Canadian Commercial Banking and Wealth Management, U.S. Commercial Banking and Wealth Management, and Capital Markets. It has international operations in the United States, the Caribbean, Asia, and United Kingdom; Globally. CIBC serves more than eleven million clients, and has over 40,000 employees. The company ranks at number 172 on the Forbes Global 2000 listing.
context_section_description: William McMaster founded the Canadian Bank of Commerce which opened on May 15, 1867, in Toronto as competition for the Bank of Montreal; by 1874 it had 24 branches. The Imperial Bank of Canada opened in Toronto on March 18, 1875, founded by former Commerce Vice-president Henry Stark Howland.  By the end of 1895, the Canadian Bank of Commerce had grown to 58 branches and the Imperial Bank of Canada to 18. The 1896 gold strike in the Yukon prompted the Dominion Government to ask the Canadian Bank of Commerce to open a branch in Dawson City. 
  Wood, Gundy & Company, the precursor of CIBC's investment banking arm, opened its doors on February 1, 1905. During World War I, it took a prominent and active role in the organization of Victory Loans. 
  Acquisitions in the 1920s caused the Commerce Bank to become one of the strongest branch networks in Canada with over 700 local branches; and the bank opened international branches in Cuba, Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad during the same period.
  The Canadian Bank of Commerce opened its new head office in Toronto in 1931. An observation gallery on the 32nd floor attracted visitors who could get an aerial view of the city. At a height of 145 metres (476 ft), the building was the tallest building in the Commonwealth from its completion in 1931 to 1962, with the completion of CIBC Tower in Montreal. 
   
  In 1936, the Commerce was the first Canadian bank to establish a personal loans department. Following World War II, both banks opened new branches. Although the banks had been barred from the mortgage business in 1871, the Canadian government now called upon them to provide mortgage services. So, in 1954, Canadian banks started offering mortgages for new construction.
caption: Bank of Commerce Tower (renamed Commerce Court North), was built as the headquarters for the Canadian Bank of Commerce.
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