CIBC admits $25B in credit crunch exposure
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has admitted the full extent of its exposure to monoline insurers in its book of non-subprime credit derivatives is a whopping $25-billion. In materials posted to the bank's Web site, CIBC said the portfolio is currently in the hole for about $885-million, and the underlying assets in this book is of much higher quality than its book of subprime investments. The bank issued the disclosure ahead of a speech by chief executive Gerry McCaughey, which is due to take place Wednesday afternoon at a banking conference in Montreal.