CIBC Ranked Top Canadian Bank for Online Banking Functionality

TORONTO, Jan. 26, 2015 /CNW/ - CIBC (TSX: CM) (NYSE: CM) announced today that it received the top overall ranking for online banking functionality in Canada among the big 5 banks reviewed in Forrester Research Inc.'s 2014 Canadian Online Banking Benchmark report. This follows CIBC's top ranking in the Canadian Mobile Banking Benchmark from Forrester, released in May 2014.

For their most recent report, Forrester evaluated the online banking functionality of the five largest retail banks in Canada across more than 50 criteria, and CIBC's redesigned secure website topped this year's benchmark.

Key areas of strength for CIBC in online banking included:

• The highest overall ranking for security and privacy, with features such as one-time pass codes for key security tasks.
• CIBC also stood out for money management, embedding financial goals on the online banking homepage and providing a "Financial HealthCheck" that gives personalized recommendations for reaching financial goals including debt reduction and savings.

"Delivering industry leading online and mobile banking capabilities is foundational to building a modern, convenient bank to meet the changing needs of our clients," says David Williamson, Senior Executive Vice President and Group Head, Retail and Business Banking, CIBC. "We believe this latest recognition from Forrester speaks to our continued investment in innovation, making banking easy, personalized, and flexible for our clients. That's what Canadians want from their bank, and CIBC is delivering."

Online banking continues to be widely used in Canada

While Mobile Banking is a rapidly growing channel for Canadians to bank anywhere, anytime, Forrester notes that more than three-quarters of Canadians bank online. Investing in assisted service functions is essential to the online client experience for those times when clients need additional information or an answer to a specific question. The Forrester benchmark also gave CIBC the top ranking for assisted service features, which allow clients to quickly get further support through online chat and other features when banking online.

CIBC is leading the way in retail banking innovation

CIBC's clients have been the first in Canada to benefit from a number of innovations in retail banking in recent years. CIBC launched the first mobile banking app in Canada in 2010, a first of its kind mobile payments app in 2012, and more recently was first among the big 5 to allow clients to deposit cheques using their smartphone in 2013.

"We have a culture of innovation at CIBC with a sharp focus on the needs of our clients, today and in the future," adds Mr. Williamson. "We're pleased to earn this recognition from Forrester and we will continue to invest in the innovative products and services that are helping us build deeper banking relationships with our clients."

About CIBC

CIBC is a leading Canadian-based global financial institution with nearly 11 million personal banking and business clients. Through our three major business units - Retail and Business Banking, Wealth Management and Wholesale Banking - CIBC offers a full range of products and services through its comprehensive electronic banking network, branches and offices across Canada with offices in the United States and around the world. You can find other news releases and information about CIBC in our Media Centre on our corporate website at www.cibc.com.

SOURCE CIBC