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Canadian Imperial Bank of CommerceCM.TOCOMMENTOct 26, 2016Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jun 19, 2026. Market Open.
We're speculating what will happen. Last year, most of the Canadian area was protected from tariffs because of CUSMA. The US would be paying more for our goods through tariffs; they buy many of our goods. Banks are at the tail end of their elevated provisions and their stocks have done quite well as interest rates have declined. The Bank of Canada has signalled it may hold rates for a while, but the government has released more fiscal support and opening more trade channels, which are good. She remains bullish banks.
The chart shows a V-shaped recovery since April's tariff worries. In Canada, interest rates have been cut aggressively, so the Canadian banks have skated through. Wealth management divisions are strong. Loan loss provisions are down. NA and RY are the best, but CM and BMO are reporting much better earnings, which catches his attention.
You can own banks generally any time, and are never going to get into too much trouble. The valuation has come down a little. It pays the highest dividend in the group. As an income investor, this is probably a good place to be. If looking for more growth, you could get BNS (BNS-T) or Royal (RY-T). He doesn’t see this area performing as well as last year; perhaps the dividend yield plus 3% or 4%, for a total return of 8%-9%.