Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's Chartered Banks Acquisitions Timeline
By thecanadiannumismatist | Thursday, May 18, 2023
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was formed through the 1961 merger of the Canadian Bank of Commerce and the Imperial Bank of Canada, in the largest merger between chartered banks in Canadian history.
Imperial Bank of Canada
Founded in 1873 as the Imperial Bank in Toronto by Henry Stark Howland, former vice president of the Canadian Bank of Commerce. The bank became the Imperial Bank of Canada in 1874.
Canadian Bank of Commerce
The Canadian Bank of Commerce was founded in 1867, and had hundreds of branches throughout Canada.
In 1934, the newly created Bank of Canada was given the responsibility, through an Act of Parliament, to regulate the country's money supply and to promote the economic and financial welfare of Canada.
The new central bank was also given the exclusive right to issue bank notes in Canada. In 1944, it was forbidden for Canadian Chartered banks to issue banknotes. Below, the list of chartered banks that merged with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
1867
The Bank of Canada was granted a charter on August 16, 1858. The charter was never used and eventually sold to William McMaster in 1866 and renamed the Canadian Bank of Commerce.
It is not to be mistaken for the Bank of Canada, the current central bank which was established by the Bank of Canada Act in 1934.
1870
Established in 1835 in Hamilton, Gore Bank was absorbed by the Canadian Bank of Commerce.
1875
The Niagara District Bank, previously Bank of the Niagara District, was affected by the economy in St. Catharines. It finally merged with the Imperial Bank of Canada on June 2.
1901
The first Bank of British Columbia branch was established by Royal Charter in 1862, with its head office in London. In 1901 it merged with the Canadian Bank of Commerce. At the time of the merger it had branches in Vancouver, Victoria, Kamloops, Nanaimo, Nelson, New Westminster, Rossland, Sandon, San Francisco, Portland, and London.
1903
The Halifax Banking Company was formed by eight prominent citizens of Halifax.
It became incorporated as a chartered bank in 1872 and enjoyed a period of rapid growth and prosperity. The bank was merged with the Canadian Bank of Commerce in 1903.
1906
Chartered in 1871, the Merchants Bank of Prince Edward Island was acquired by the Canadian Bank of Commerce in 1906.
1912
To increase the presence on a national scale of the Eastern Townships Bank, its shareholders agreed to merge, effective March 1, 1912, with the Canadian Bank of Commerce.
1924
The Bank of Hamilton was established in 1872 by local businessmen in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada under the leadership of Donald McInnes, the bank's first President. Like the other Canadian chartered banks, it issued its own paper money.
The Bank of Hamilton merged with Canadian Bank of Commerce (later to become the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, or CIBC) on January 2, 1924. It was one of the last surviving banks in Canada that was not headquartered in Toronto or Montreal.
1928
The Standard Bank of Canada was a Canadian bank established in 1873 as the St. Lawrence Bank by a group of Toronto businessmen led by John Charles Fitch.
Increased competition and other strategic considerations led to the Standard Bank of Canada to merge with the Canadian Bank of Commerce in 1928.
1931
The Weyburn Security Bank was a chartered bank headquartered in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada. The bank was established by a group of American investors as a private bank in 1910, by 1911 the bank had advanced to the point where it obtained a Canadian bank charter.
Due to the onset of the great depression, in May 1931 the bank was purchased by the Imperial Bank of Canada.
1956
Barclays Bank (Canada) Limited was incorporated in Montreal, Quebec in 1929, as a joint venture between Barclays Bank Limited and Barclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas). An office was later established in Toronto.
In 1956, Barclays Bank (Canada) was acquired by Imperial Bank of Canada.
1961
The Canadian Bank of Commerce was a Canadian bank which was founded in 1867, and had hundreds of branches throughout Canada. It merged in 1961 with the Imperial Bank of Canada to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
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