TORONTO, March 16, 2020 /CNW/ - Today CIBC (TSX: CM) (NYSE: CM) announced it will be implementing new proactive, precautionary measures to support public health efforts to manage the spread and flatten the curve of COVID-19 while continuing to provide full banking services to Canadians, and protect both clients and team members in this evolving situation.
"As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve we are taking proactive, precautionary action to continue serving our clients while protecting the health and safety of our clients, team members and the communities we serve," said Laura Dottori-Attanasio, Senior Executive Vice-President, Personal and Business Banking, CIBC. "We remain ready to help clients with their banking needs and we're proud to support our clients and our community as we work through the current situation together."
The following measures are being announced today:
- We are committed to meeting the banking needs of our clients in this challenging period, and we will continue to operate our banking centres with some modifications in service. Effective Wednesday, March 18th, 816 of our locations will remain open but operate under modified hours, and we will temporarily close approximately 206 of our banking centres that do not currently offer over the counter cash and banking services to clients. At all of our banking centres, we are continuing our daily cleaning procedures. In addition, all of our CIBC ATMs, online banking, mobile banking and telephone banking services remain available 24/7 to provide a high level of service to our clients. A complete list of banking centre locations and hours will be available on CIBC.com on Wednesday, March 18.
We want to thank our team for continuing to provide excellent service and advice to our clients during these unprecedented times. While they take care of our clients, we are taking care of them by ensuring that any employee affected by these temporary service modifications will continue to receive full pay.
- Recognizing the financial challenges that the current situation is creating for some individuals and families including business owners, we are introducing assistance for clients impacted by job loss or other circumstances. Clients in financial hardship can contact their CIBC Advisor or call 1-877-454-9030 to discuss options to improve their cash flow over the short term by reviewing their payment obligations. We have doubled our staffing levels to handle client inquiries and the increased volumes we are currently receiving and expect to receive as this situation evolves.
- We enacted a work at home approach for many employees in non client-facing roles across our bank yesterday. This enables many team members to remain productive at home, reducing the number of people commuting daily while staying focused on supporting clients.
- To support our community, we are contributing $100,000 to the World Health Organization, and $650,000 to local Canadian charities to ensure that the vital work done by these organizations continues during this challenging period.
"I'm incredibly proud of how our team has come together to help our clients during this unprecedented period. We will continue to meet the needs of our clients, take care of our team, and be an active supporter of our communities," added Ms. Dottori-Attanasio.
About CIBC
CIBC is a leading Canadian-based global financial institution with 10 million personal banking, business, public sector and institutional clients. Across Personal and Business Banking, Commercial Banking and Wealth Management, and Capital Markets businesses, CIBC offers a full range of advice, solutions and services through its leading digital banking network, and locations across Canada, in the United States and around the world. Ongoing news releases and more information about CIBC can be found at www.cibc.com/en/about-cibc/media-centre.html.
SOURCE CIBC
