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The bank most likely to walk into a sharp object

SINCLAIR STEWART TARA PERKINS AND BOYD ERMAN

From Saturday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 3:02 AM EST 21/01/08

It was supposed to be a return to your grandmother's CIBC. But after settling Enron, Gerry McCaughey discovered a bigger problem: more than $10-billion in risky subprime investments ...Read the full article

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  1. D JL from Canada writes: But did Gerry McCaughey accept his bonus?
  2. Roger S from Canada writes: CIBC is a classic example of talking the thing they don't mean to do it. FYI, CIBC is the leader among all canadian banks for producing Risk Management Methodogies and garbage documentations. However, in reality, the risk management next exists inside CIBC.
  3. Let's Be Prudent from Toronto, Canada writes: This is really sad. Reading this article painfully underlines why there possibly was a trial balloon from the Bank of Nova Scotia last week about allowing banks to merge. It is clearly needed to have a procedure in place so that if the Commerce regrettably melts down, another bank can take it over.

    For the shareholders, they are taking a big haircut.

    For the employees, CIBC will be continuing to pay the least it can to "get back" what it has lost on the subprime fiasco.

    For the public, CIBC will be a less attractive bank to do business with.

    However, I am also concerned that to "recover" from this fiasco (which was perhaps to “recover” from the Enron fiasco), CIBC may already have the seeds of its next debacle growing somewhere in its operations.

    Sadly, this is the bank that could not stop sending customer information to an American scrap metal dealer.

    Has there been the beginning of an outflow of quality people from the CIBC, thus enabling a more debilitating debacle?
  4. Roger S from Canada writes: Let me tell you why those CEOs are so eager to merge, the reason is BONUS. CEO will have a lot of Bonus ( much more than their regular 10million/yr) once the deal is done, then they can retire immediately.

    This is known issue in the US.
  5. Shekar Iyer from Canada writes: There is one word that sums up this episode at the executive and board level: "incompetence"
  6. Rakesh Kochhar from Dartmouth, Canada writes: It’s about time that the Feds lift restrictions on bank ownership and let either Manulife or TD Canada Trust take CIBC over at $72.00/share. Bank mergers are inevitable and we may as well start at the bottom. Case in point, UBS and Citigroup both had recent injections into their capital base from offshore sources like Singapore, the Gulf, and Abu Dhabi. Case in point, as debts to the Bank of England grew over $50B from Northern Rock, the exchequer has been forced to guarantee more and more of the debts. And on December 18th the government moved closer towards what is, in effect the nationalization of Northern Rock. So, we have three options: allow bank mergers and keep our financial institutions Canadian; improve the capital base through government spending; or allow foreign ownership and protect shareholder value. Strong Canadian dollar, attractive yields and valuations on US financials enable our strong Banks like TD Canada Trust and Royal to sniff south of our boarders and possibly grow as global financial leaders with Canadian interests (resources, etc) first and foremost. Its time to let the leaders break out of the pack….its about time that we open the discussions on Bank mergers within Canada…and begin to clean house…by letting the WEAKEST LINK fade away!
  7. a c from not on Bay Street, Canada writes: Let me get this straight:
    A director thinks McCaughy should get to keep his job because the CDO market was relatively small and not worthy of a CEO's attention. The article says CIBC has $12 billion in CDO's. Considering this is almost CIBC's entire shareholder equity ($13 billion), I would say it's very worthy of the CEO's attention. And furthermore, the non-chalence shown by this director surely indicates another major problem. If CIBC doesn't get taken over in a merger, it'll be Royal Trust all over again.
  8. Former 2 Time CIBC Staffer from North Vancouver, Canada writes: What most readers fail to realize is CIBC is run by an army of intellectual midgets... the senior executives all crowd the stage when their risky strategies work out, usually temporarily. But when things turn ugly, usually seek to blame underlings, if possible, and each other, if underlings can't be found to be blamed. Such is the corporate culture at Canada's most disfunctional bank. I would love Manulife to take over this sad sack institution and whip it into shape...
  9. Max Nemo from Canada writes: This game always plays out the same way: employees are laid off and the management gets bonuses. Shareholders are holding the bag. Heads have to roll for this fiasco.
  10. anti commie anti commie from Canada writes: No problem. Just raise bank fees to $5 a transaction. Given that banking in Canada is a cartel, customers at every bank are going to get stiffed.
    Then there's the Bank of Canada, which will create money at lower and lower interest rates to "save" the economy as we follow the U.S. down the drain, but the banks will still be charging Johnny Canuck 28% on his credit cards.
  11. L Harder from Canada writes: The level of naivity and lack of big picture thinking is astounding. A get rich scheme backed by an insurance scam to cover peoples butts.
  12. Jamie Finch from Toronto, Canada writes: Yep, and these are many of the same management gems that tried to pressure the federal government to allow them to merge with other Canadian banks. This was so they could become big-time players on the world stage. Of course the use of Canadian depositors and investors funds was required to make the plan work. If these dreamers had been allowed their hubris; what an economic mess it would have created for Canada! Many more staff lay-offs and many more increases in banking fees, credit cards fees would have ensued. When the expansionist idea was blocked, the same band of ego-inflated went on to the Enron and mutual fund debacles. It is time for the federal government and central bank to inch the reserve requirements for all Canadian chartered banks upward. This should be a signal to prudence for them all. Oh, and the people that counsel to currency unification with the Canadian/US dollar; what do you say now? That move would have left Canada with even fewer options to deal with the coming crisis.
  13. L M from Canada writes: I am a former CIBC staffer and can attest first hand to the changes this organization went through under Hunkin. He placed investment bankers as heads of virtually every line of business within CIBC and encouraged the "big swinging d*ck" mentality that's prevalant in those organizations.
    Capital was allocated to the businesses that generated the highest returns and in the late '90's, that was World Markets. He milked his hedge on the Global Crossing fiasco to keep his job through the beginning of Enron and Worldcom, but eventually, it caught up to him and he was turfed.
    McCaughey's biggest mistake was not replacing the Hunkinites two years ago. Instead, this mentality festered throughout the organization.
    CIBC lost thousands of employees throughout the last 5 years and has little bench strength on its front line. They've just re-aligned their commercial banking group with retail & small business - a move long overdue. Unfortunately, at a time when the focus should be on the bank's "bread & butter" retail and commercial activities, these areas are staffed with the least motivated and experienced people.
    I suspect CIBC will be the first foreign owned Sched. 1. The feds have little choice to open up ownership restrictions.
  14. Voice of Reason from Ottawa, Canada writes: CIBC is run by misfits and thugs....an example is the former DM of PWGSC ( I David Marshall ( former VP at CIBC), who was brought in by Ralph Goodale ) Marshall brought to department to its knees with his proposal to do reverse auctions for all of the federal procurements, fired whoever was unlucky enough to be available for scapegoats to his mistakes, skipped out of parliamentary committees where he was asked to explain himself ( emergency cosmetic surgury) and brought the department in litigation with all those former employees who are suing for wrongful dismissal . This is an example of the management of CIBC. Be afraid, be very afraid.
  15. David Spaetzel from Port Elgin, Ontario, Canada writes: And while all this was going on, CIBC was sending people into the branches to make sure there was no risk of loss there from things like missed signatures or not getting proper identification. I only wish some of these people had been sent to look into dealings at World Markets. I guess they assumed the senior people knew what they were doing. Oops.
  16. D C from Oakville, Canada writes: To Shekar, absolutely correct and to LM again correct.

    CIBC will not return to be your Grandmothers bank until it is run by leaders with integrity, like Flood, Kluge, Fullerton and the teams they built. Sorry Mr Flood, but you must be cringing these days, the selection of Hunkin was likely the worst decision you ever recommended to the Board.

    These current baffoons have to go, when a crisis is underfoot and the CEO spends valuable time discussing history is just one example of McGauhey's incompetence. I have personally witnessed McGaughey's digressions into irrelavant discussions while important business was on the table.

    Another, how does the CRO not know the Bank's exposure to a particular asset category, especially while Basel II (new Capaital Accord) is being implemented in Canada. The very regulations that are being put in place to measure, analyze and report on the Bank's assets.

    Unfortunately for CIBC and for the shareholders, the entire Retail team was slaughtered and so there is no bench at this Bank.

    When will the regulators step in and demand some real change......
  17. ken lafleur from Canada writes: the greedy get greedier
  18. a c from NOT ON BAY STREET, Canada writes: I hadn't thought of this before but Jamie Finch from Toronto makes a good point. Why should the government allow mergers to go through if they can't even operate on a smaller basis? Why should Canadians risk their futures for the potential of an even bigger catastrophe down the road??
  19. Larry Gemmel from Val-des-Monts, Québec, Canada writes: Great article, but very alarming when read in conjunction with today's other stories on the overall meltdown of the US economy. In my mind, this comes down to a single root cause: Excessive Greed.

    It appears that the kind of activities and behaviour that we used to associate with scam artists hanging out in corner bars have now become commonplace and acceptable in our corporate culture. (Even rewarded with bonuses as other readers point out!) It is time to resore integrity and real value to these corrupt markets.
  20. Nick Wilson from Toronto, Canada writes: That is an excellent article, very informative. As a former CIBC employee (I worked in the middle-office at their Bay St Head Office), I was able to witness the corporate culture on this FI and was in daily contact with personel of the CIBC WM debt division. While I have absolutely no doubt on the integrity of the people I have worked and they were not involved in the CDO's market. These people to me were very competent and I learned a lot with them and I'm grateful for that. However, the corporate culture in this bank at least in the MO was completely rotten. There was so many unprofessional people and a lot of people of questionnable competence. I mean we dealt with Fixed-Income deivatives securities and there was a lot of people who I would say didn't even know how to interpret the greeks measures or something like that. I've seen people who would know by experience that if interest rate rise, the value of bonds would fall but don't ask them to explain you why!!! In that respect, CIBC's mentality was to automate everything it can and then hire low qualifications people at a very low salary. Of course the result was disastrous. The employees attitude in the MO was to blame everybody and not take accountability and the director was responsible for that because it was setting the example. And there was a lot of other bad people in management role at CIBC. When I was there, we lost about one people every month in the MO, the turnover was unbelievable. And yet the director hasn't been removed from management!! The reason why ? You got absolutely no respect and you were paid far below market rate and the company was not interested to develop people skills and promote internally. Fortunately, I'm now wroking at another FI and it's a much more professional environment. CIBC is not hard to beat in that department!!!
  21. John Connor from Canada writes: You reap what you sow. And CIBC is reaping a lot in the bullsh*t department these days. As far as I'm concerned, it couldn't happen to a more deserving institution.

    Although the rank and file will end up paying the price for the incompetance of middle and senior management. For that I am truly sorry.
  22. Nick Wilson from Toronto, Canada writes: Back to the CDO's market. I think the FI are to blame but the blame should also lay on the rating agencies's shoulders. They are the one who assigned AAA rating to these securities. The mortgages being securitized were very risky in itself. However, with credit enhancement practices like bond insurance, over-collateralization and so on, the FI issuing these CDO's have been able to get AAA rating for their CDO. Basically, if a pool of subprime mortages would have been rated junk bond, because the insurer was rated AAA, then the CDO got rated AAA. But the assets being securitized remain of very low quality. That's very appealing in theory but the rating agencies haven't been able to extend their analysis to what would happen if the real estate market collapse. Would the insurer like ACA be able to honour their obligations in such circumstances ? I think the rating agencies didn't answer the question what would happen in the worst case scenario. The FI reputation like CIBC have been severly damaged but at the same time the financial markets are relying too heavily on the rating agencies as their methodologies is clearly not flawless. Hats off to the FI that stayed away from this subprime and ABCP mess.
  23. Bob Smith from Canada writes: ..."these subprime-backed securities look nowhere near as safe as the triple-A paper issued by the world's bluest of blue-chip companies. Yet many were rated as such, thanks to clever financial manoeuvring by the originators of these products..."
    Junk was sold as triple-A. This is criminal fraud on a huge scale.
  24. Patriots in 2007 from Toronto, Canada writes: CIBC isn't so bad at the retail level. It's unfortunate that the core is rotten. If CIBC were to be taken over, I would expect the new owner to keep the retail banking franchise and pull out the "whacking stick" for all of the other business units. That said, I pulled all of my accounts out of CIBC, but it wasn't because of poor service at the retail level - I've always found the people at the service level to be helpful and courteous.
  25. Don Cafferty from Canada writes: I think "blame" can be shared quite widely. The CDO market is characterized as "buyers don't ask, sellers don't tell" about the alchemy that is involved. It may not be the best example but I think business organizations have fostered a corporate climate of unquestionning obedience and authority over its employees. It is okay for the top-end to question the lower-end, but it certainly does not work in reverse. The unquestionning duds at the lower end eventually make it to the top end. It is no wonder that organizations find themselves in difficulty. By the way, Mr. McCaughey does not deserve/earned a bonus. The organization's performance does not justify it. As a customer, it gives me cause to look elsewhere for banking services.
  26. David Jenkins from Kelowna, Canada writes: A question comes to mind: where are the major accounting/audit firms in this mess?

    Time after time we find that these high paid practices - who are supposed to guard against financial mismanagement at their clients - have done nothing to ensure that risk assessment & management practices are in place. They are too concerned with keeping the billing machine running to risk upsetting their large clients by asking tough questions.

    It's time to hold their feet to the fire and ask what they have been doing to earn that massive fees. Protecting the public interest clearly hasn't been high on their list of priorities!
  27. L M from Canada writes: David Jenkins,

    I don't believe it's fair to blame the auditors - the value of the CDO's is based largely on the market and that changes hourly. Despite my views on CIBC management, I don't anything was deliberately witheld by it or CIBC's auditors. Even McCaughey's not that stupid.
  28. David Jenkins from Kelowna, Canada writes: LM - I'm not suggesting fraudulent activities, just incompetent ones.

    I've seen the accounting profession close up and there is no question that feeding the billable hours is their prime motivation. Following Enron & other recent debacles, we have seen frameworks such as COSO and other changes to accounting practices that are supposed to place much more emphasis on the auditing of management financial practices, not just 'do the books balance'?

    There's also the issue of the Board - what role do we expect them to play? Unfortunately many Boards are incestuous in make up and do Management's bidding, not the reverse.
  29. joe 6 pk from Canada writes: my question is this.............

    where is the bottom and when on this pig???????????????????

    it is dragging down manulife's share price.............

    when to buy?????????????

    i hate being a bag holder!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  30. Fred Pyziak from Toronto, writes: It reminds me of the cartoon depicting “Spike and the Chihuahua” were the little dog was always at the beckoning call of the bigger dog. “Being a small foreign player in a big market, such as New York, comes with disadvantages, including a relative lack of deal flow, history and information. But if the small player -- in this case, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce -- is keen to compete, one result can be that the smarter locals will pick it off with bad deals. “ (National Post) in this case Goldman Sachs was Spike with a 3.5 billion dollar bone he wanted to share…….!!!!
  31. Johnny Canuck from Canada writes: Thank goodness the government did not approve bank mergers in Canada. These CEO's cannot even run the banks in their current size. Why people do not invest their money directly is beyond me. You want energy by the TSX energy ishares. You want financials buy the TSX financial ishares. You can buy & sell them with a click of your mouse. The days of the mutual fund industry should be over imo.
  32. jamie yavis from Canada writes: The CIBC deserves to go the way of the dodo bird!

    Its change of direction twenty years ago to cater more to large businesses needs, and just fleece the lambs (regular depositors)with obscure banking charges made me walk at that time.

    And that doesn't even touch on it being the worst of the big three for customer service at its local branches where the mortuarian atmosphere makes makes me wonder if I should pay my visa bill, or order a casket for someone.
  33. bill k from Canada writes: Why do CEO get paid more then 400X more then the average worker? In the 70's when unions were strong wealth was spread out more evenly and CEO's earned just 40 X more then the average worker. As unions declined CEO's started to make MORE while the workers who do 99% of the work got paid less. CEO are lazy useless dog F_______s who should make NO MORE then $150,000.00 a year with NO BONUS. I bet you could of taken a 10 year old to take over CIBC and they COULD NEVER LOSE as much money . CEO's are over paid under worked lazy people who are part of the good old boys club and move from one company to another.
  34. Me Too from Calgary, Canada writes: I love it when Joe Six Pack says a CEO is overpaid. How much education do you have, Joe ? What is the largest decision you've ever made ? How much responsibility do you have in your job position and what does your performance review read like ?

    I agree their pay is sometimes obscene, but its time we acknowledged that it takes a ton of skill to be a CEO. Granted this one messed up, but some do earn their keep.
  35. Me Too from Calgary, Canada writes: This is a very well written piece of journalism. Kudos to the author. We need more of this so that everyone understands the significance of these events and what really happens behind the scene. Good reporting ! This sort of thing keeps me reading the Globe.

    The whole US real estate situation was stupid. It wasn't just the CDOs and the sub prime. It was the whole situation. People keep talking about parts of it without realizing how much each part contributed to the whole picture. Silly homeowners, mortgage originators, banks, builders, mortgage backed bond purchasers, rating agencies, home valuators, etc. They all had a hand in building a system that was flat out stupid. It was a bubble, just like the dot com stocks were only 8 years before. Funny thing is that most people didn't realize it was a bubble until too late. How stupid everyone was not the learn the lesson the first time.

    Wanna know a little secret ? It isn't over yet. Things are going to get much, much worse in the US housing market before they get better. Nobody talks about it publicly but mortgage credit is drying up like crazy. At a time when house prices are falling like crazy and consumers are up to their eyeballs in debt. Its going to get very ugly before it gets better.

    Wanna know another little secret ? Canada RE is going to crash too. What do you think happened to CIBC's ability to write mortgages ? It's declined. As it has at other banks too. Don't just think the game was on down in the US. It was on up here too. Candians are about to learn that they aren't as smart as they think they are when it comes to real estate bubbles.

  36. Lucas Fausak from Edmonton, Canada writes: I find it annoying when the doom and gloomers post as if they have insider information on the Canadian housing 'bubble' that the rest of us don't have. So what are your suggestions? And if its "sell everything, pay off all debt and move to a remote cabin in Northern B.C.", you can go it alone because the last time I checked the housing market is primarily driven by supply and demand and market fundamentals such as /- in-migration, employment rates, vacancy rates, affordibility indexes and so on...so please save your doom and gloom theories for those pathetic enough to listen.
  37. steve allan from Canada writes: Bet against the CIBC.

    It's a very poorly run bank that's been able to mask poor management decisions by riding a low inflation and low interest environment for years. Now that the economic environment has turned negative there's now way they cana hide all of those poor decisions.

    Besides, the Caisse de depot just invested a large sum of money in CIBC so you can bet their fortunes are going to get worse. As long as that meathead Richard Drouin has anything to do with the Caisse, the people of Quebec continue to see an erosion in the value of their public pension plan.
  38. Jerry Ackerman from Kingston, ON, Canada writes: AH, we keep forgetting what we used to notice.
    (a) Financial crime PAYS very well.
    (b) "Self-regulation " means NO regulation
    (c) Here, we are trying to deal with completely conflicted interests
    (d) OUR OWN bank stays emasculated. No interest-free loans for essential public goods and services like health, education, parks, roads, bridges. Our new 7-yr governor comes from Wall Street where the US central bank is owned by an elite few 'Morgans and Rockefellers' and
    wars keep enriching THEM at the expense of everyone's well-being.
    (No way that ordinary Americans can benefit without paying through the nose for everything they require.)
  39. Jimmy Delf from Canada writes: National bank is also an effing crappy bank too
  40. Bernard Bomers from Vancouver, Canada writes: CIBC's Board of Directors historic mentality was to sanction a "Management Clique"and reward them with bonus incentives to automate everything it can and then hire low qualifications people at a very low salary.

    Let's examine the CIBC Board of Directors "Graduates", and their link to "Current Stellar Incumbents".

    Who did they recommend as "Auditors"? On what basis?

    Who should be nominated to a "Banking Hall of Fame"?

    Why allow them to "bailed out" on the basis of currently existing contracts that favour the current managerial lot and their paid "outside advisers"?

    Need names?
  41. John G from Ottawa, Canada writes: "the last time I checked the housing market is primarily driven by supply and demand and market fundamentals such as /- in-migration, employment rates, vacancy rates, affordibility indexes and so on.."

    Indeed it is. So if there were any place in Canada where these indicators were about the same as in any high-priced US market in 2005, you would it expect it to crash too, wouldn't you?

    Now where would that be?
  42. B C from Guelph, Canada writes: What next with the CIBC - a potential investment in the lucrative nigerian money scam?
  43. Henriette Heroux from Nouvelle-France, Canada writes: $$$$$ "... taking unprotected positions in complex derivatives was antithetical to the strategy that Mr. McCaughey had been preaching for the bank..." $$$$$ "Ah! Qu'en termes galants ces choses-la sont mises!" (Moliere) $$$$$ Missing: only the right accents....
  44. Robert Poirier from Quebec City, Canada writes: Canadians for some reason show a lot of meekness towards incompetent, unsavory and sometimes swindling business leaders, withness Black, Dunn and all the rest. The buck never reaches their desks.
  45. black and white from Canada writes: Oh what a tangled web we weave.....the growing apathy to risk,rampant speculation, gambling on even riskier propositions to gain leverage, "clever financial manoeuvering" to keep watchdogs at bay....everything spinning out of control .......why why why?....BECAUSE IT"S NOT THEIR MONEY!!!.....the fired executives will leave with handsome buyouts and everyone of them will resurface in some bonzo way just like CFL coaches...
  46. black dog from Canada writes: CIBC seems to be poorly managed.
  47. Lucas Fausak from Edmonton, Canada writes: John G -

    If these indicators were the same as some of the higher priced centers in the U.S. I would be concerned...but they're not...so, I'm not concerned.

    I understand that the sub-prime fiasco will affect our economy but to suggest that we are on the edge of a precipice is doom and gloom theory at its worst...I still have confidence in the Canadian economy which, as we all know, is an important component of a healthy economy.
  48. Dark Green from Grandma's Inn, Cuba writes: Such great human models: courageous, willing to be "parachuted" on the front line in the most dangerous spots, always prepared to dare, to take risks... with other people's assets. Admirable!
  49. TIM BURTON from Canada writes: This is what greed buys you!!!
  50. Mike From Canmore from Canada writes: I think the time has arrived for a CIBC executive officer to jump out of a high-flying helicopter.
  51. John Birmingham from calgoronto, Canada writes: Joe6Pack,

    Consider selling, or some bear Etf's. check out jsmineset.com He's been calling for this for years.

    yw.
  52. Marian Olson from Canada writes: It is all very well to show a few of the upper echelon the door, but why is there no demand from the large institutional shareholders - given that small shareholders have no clout at all - for the resignation of all or at least a significant part of the "illustrious", largely anonymous board at CIBC? You know, the old boys with a few token women thrown in for balance. Too bad that they haven't even been named in all the media coverage of recent weeks. To be sure they are rather shy these days, but why the reticence on the part of the media? Or investing luminaries such as Stephen Jarislowsky for that matter. Just curious. Given that there will be no significant housecleaning at CIBC and thus no real change in the culture, a bank merger with a more reputable institution would be a good idea.
  53. Bill Bottomley from New Delhi, India writes: I have to admit that I'm not a banking (or in any way financial) expert. I found the article written in such a matter that I understood how things happened. But what I wonder is how the other Canadian banks managed to stay out of this minefield? Are they simply more cautious by nature or are they more on top of things due to better management? Lending money to people who have none makes no sense to me.
  54. Dave Bolt from Winnipeg, Canada writes: Cash is King, got out in November after the double top, Technically see the TSE leveling at 11,500 so there is more losses to come despite the Bank reps promoting calm during the past down week...
  55. Two Sense from Saskatoon, Canada writes: I don't know if you rememeber the days when there was no cable and no satellite T.V.? Anyways, despite only having a few channels, and only a few shows to watch, it seemed the quality of the programs were better. Now, I have 250 channels and very few are worth watching. Likewise, remember the days when the value of a stock was based on fundamentals like earnings and markets thrived and advanced because of building value. You know before puts and calls, derivitives, ABCP, and subprime crap bundled up to make a 3 look like a nine (Trooper). Nowadays, there are lot's of new investment products but most of them are very risky and can turn into crap real fast. Are you listening, CIBC, et al. For the potential of a higher return on your investment you are now writing off billions. Good thing you will not be held personally responsible for this mess. If I ran my household like you guys have run this Bank, I would be eating Moew Mix for lunch. What are you guys having for lunch tommorrow, on your company expense card? Thank God I did not buy your stock at $100.00 per share, how do you think the people who did feel? Do you care? I didn't think so or you would not have gambled away their confidence and their investment in your Bank. Got to go, Seinfeld is on CBC.
  56. Mr. Chamberlain from Canada writes: Jamie Finch from Toronto has it right.

    Thank God it's "only" 12 billion.
  57. Ray Rayban123 from Toronto, Canada writes: To the woodchipper machine I say! Rather than just watching this stock sink lower (which it WILL), why not make money off CIBC incompetent management?

    Short sell CIBC stock on the TSX and don't cover until $0.01!!

    CIBC and their incompetent management will one day be a case study at all MBA schools. It is really amazing to see how some banks are run.
  58. greg panke from orangeville, Canada writes: As they like to say to their customers, "You should have looked at the fine print." What a bunch of jerks! It couldn't happen to a more deserving bank.
  59. M R from Vancouver, Canada writes: -anyone remember when the Tokyo real estate market was worth more than the entire U.S.?
    -remember the ridiculous overpricing and speculation of Toronto real estate before it burst in the early 90's?
    -How long did the economic hangovers last from those parties?
    -This entirely predictable meltdown in the States, along with the unchecked federal deficit spending through boom times, will make this a recession to remember.

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