CIBC adapts to talent wars by upskilling tech workers: To appeal to highly sought-after developers, banks can stress development opportunities and innovative projects, and publicly celebrate workers who contribute to patents.

In 2021, the number of new mobile banking users in Canada will plummet to a third of the previous year’s level, considerably increasing competition among financial institutions (FIs), including CIBC. As the battle for new mobile users heats up, FIs’ mobile banking app features will be crucial. This report identifies which key growth opportunities CIBC might focus on to gain and retain customers.

CIBC. KPMG. RBC. TransUnion.

CIBC. CIBC will see its share of overall Canada bank technology spend fall to 13.7% in 2026, from 16.3% in 2022. Its growth in technology expenses will trail growth exhibited by the overall market—though that’s not to say CIBC isn’t investing in its technology.

TD Bank, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), CIBC, Scotiabank, and BMO collectively channeled $88.8 billion into the top 30 tar sands producers and six tar sands pipeline companies between 2016 and 2021, upping their financing by almost $9 billion last year.

And top-five bank CIBC upped its limit for mobile debit cards. Higher limits should boost contactless spending broadly, especially since over half of Canadians still aim to stay below the contactless limit, per March 2021 Payments Canada data.

The requirement to cut business ties with people linked to anti-vaccine-mandate protests will be a lot easier for companies with better-established compliance arms.

The two leading digital-only banks, Simplii and Tangerine, each have over two million users and are owned by incumbent banks CIBC and Scotiabank. UK-based Revolut pulled away from its strategy in Canada in 2021 as it failed to reach meaningful penetration in the market. Additionally, 99% of the Canadian population is banked.

The report offered the example of CIBC, which has increased customer acquisition rates by 65% within three primary lines of business—largely through personalization efforts.

The four top-performing FIs in the study—RBC, TD, BMO, and CIBC—scored within 5 percentage points of one another. With such a tight race, just a few tailored enhancements could put any of them in the lead.

CIBC places first in mobile: The banking giant topped J.D. Power’s Canadian mobile app customer satisfaction survey—a designation it may have earned in part due to some recently rolled-out features.

When lockdown directives and social distancing measures were implemented throughout Canada, banks temporarily closed or modified hours at hundreds of branches as a safety precaution: CIBC shuttered 20% of its branch network, and RBC closed 40%.

Just five big banks dominate Canada’s banking sector: BMO, TD Bank, RBC, CIBC, and Scotiabank. Digital banking is on the rise—the proportion of adults who use a digital channel at least monthly is projected to reach 72.0% in 2021—but the digital-only space is controlled by two incumbent-backed players: Simplii and Tangerine.

Canada’s incumbent banks lose ground in customer satisfaction: The Big 5 Canadian banks saw lower overall satisfaction as a group in J.D. Power’s annual survey—but this poses little risk to their market positions, given the strong satisfaction with their direct bank units and their hard-to-replace legacy offerings.

The Canadian banking sector is highly concentrated and is dominated by just five big players: BMO, RBC, TD Bank, Scotiabank, and CIBC. Digital banking usage in Canada is expected to be pervasive—the proportion of adults who use a digital channel at least once a month is projected to reach 72.0% in 2021—but the online-only space is dominated by incumbent-owned players Simplii and Tangerine.

The country’s five largest banks—Scotiabank, CIBC, TD Bank, BMO, and RBC—dominate the sector. Digital banking penetration in Canada is forecast to spike from 69.7% in 2019 to 76.5% by the end of 2021, but most digital-only account holders are concentrated between two incumbent-owned digital banks, Tangerine and Simplii.