CIBC has a variety of mortgage options directed to people in different situations. It’s important to do the research to find what works best for you.
Bestmortgagerates4u has tracked the lowest mortgage rates for CIBC and it’s suggested to always confirm the most recent rates and terms directly with the provider.
CIBC Mortgage Rates
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, or CIBC, is considered in the top 6 big banks of Canada. It employs over 40,000 people and provides services to over 11 million customers across the world through 1,076 branches.
It became the first chartered bank to introduce a mobile banking app in 2010, and since then, it has been acknowledged for its online and mobile banking functionality by Forrester Research.
CIBC has a residential mortgage portfolio that has breached the $200 billion mark in loans. CIBC offers a wide range of specialty mortgages such as the CIBC Home Power Mortgage, CIBC Wealth Builder Mortgage, and cashback mortgages. One thing that CIBC doesn’t do is source mortgages through mortgage brokers.
CIBC Posted Rates
CIBC has three different types of rates, much like the other Big 6 banks. They are the posted rates, special offers, and discretionary rates.
There is one recommendation that you should walk away knowing, and it’s that you should never negotiate and pay a big bank’s posted rate. Nearly no one does that and those rates are mostly just used as a beginning point for starting offers on rate discounts. They are also used for figuring out prepayment penalties.
How competitive CIBC’s special offer rates are, usually depends on the special offer itself. A lot of the times, the rates are just coinciding with rates that are also being offered by many other lenders. Sometimes though, these rates are limited-time offers that are actually worth jumping on right away.
A lot of the best bank mortgage rates are discretionary rates and these rates are available to borrowers that are well-qualified. To get these rates, it will take a bit of negotiation.
Mortgages Through CIBC
CIBC’s mortgage products are typical of what the other big banks have to offer as well. These include the most popular fixed, variable, open, hybrid, and cashback mortgages.
The most common term is CIBC’s 5-year fixed mortgage, followed by its 5-year variable mortgage.
Many mortgage rates from CIBC come with a rate hold period of 90 days (120 days for pre-approvals). The fixed mortgages come with somewhat limited prepayment options of a 10% lump sum each year, while variables benefit from 20%.
CIBC provides prepayment features of a 100 percent increase. Remember that in addition to a discharge/assignment fee (which varies by province… e.g., $260 in Ontario and $75 in B.C.), the prepayment of more than the allowable amount would entail a penalty
The prices of CIBC rates are based on an amortization of 25 years. There are 30-year amortizations available for a surcharge of 0.10 percentage points.
The payment rate options for CIBC mortgage clients include monthly semi-monthly, bi-weekly and weekly payments. CIBC generally covers legal and appraisal fees on switches (transfers in). It’s good to keep in mind that this does not happen if you change the terms of your mortgage (e.g., try to increase the amount of your mortgage or amount or amortization).
CIBC Home Power Plan (HELOC)
CIBC provides its Home Power Plan to those who want to dig into their home equity for a low-cost source of cash.
The Home Power Plan is a line of credit and mortgage all in one. This helps you to borrow as little as $10,000 and the line of credit will automatically increase as the mortgage gets paid down. What this means, is that it can be re-advanceable.
Like most of the other HELOCs available from the big banks, homeowners can borrow up to 80% of their home’s value, but only 65% of it can be in the form of a revolving credit line. Many of the common uses for these funds include home renovations, investment debt consolidation, or simply having an emergency fund available.
The portion of the mortgage of the Home Power Plan is eligible for CIBC’s best rates while the credit line has typically been +0.50%. This can vary all based on current CIBC promotions and conditions of the market.
CIBC Wealth Builder Mortgage
The CIBC Wealth Builder Mortgage is a product that CIBC offers as a way for borrowers to increase their investment portfolio. It works like this:
- You will obtain a fixed-rate mortgage
- You determine what investment plan you want with CIBC
- CIBC will pay you cash rebates
- The cash is then deposited into your CIBC investment account
The cash rebates can only be deposited into a CIBC account. If you don’t currently have one, then you will need to open one.
You will receive a cash rebate upfront of 0.25% of your total mortgage amount at the time it is being written up. You will also receive $100 per quarter until your mortgage expires. You won’t likely get the absolute best rates with CIBC’s Wealth Builder Mortgage, and that’s mostly because the bank still has to find ways to fund those rebates.
Other Products With CIBC
CIBC provides its New Resident and Non-Resident Mortgage to new residents in Canada with no credit history. This mortgage requires that you put 35% down. For borrowers that are self-employed, the bank has a feature called the Self-Employed Recognition Mortgage. This provides additional flexibility in proving income for entrepreneurs that can put a 35 percent down payment forward. Applicants may not obtain the absolute lowest mortgage rates from CIBC for these specialty services.
How To Get A CIBC Mortgage
Like most Big 6 banks in Canada, CIBC only sells its own branded mortgages available through its branches online mortgage advisors, and its call centre. You can contact a representative of the CIBC mortgage team at any time by phone at 1-866-525-8622.
In 2012, CIBC decided not to deal through mortgage brokers, so it exited that channel.
Going Through A CIBC Mortgage Advisor
Most of the CIBC mortgages are offered through the bank’s mortgage advisors who, at your convenience, provide personalized advice. You will meet them at your chosen location (home or work) and they are available to meet during nights and weekends.
Key tip: Note that, just like a mortgage broker, mortgage reps will “buy down” your mortgage rate. Never be afraid, therefore, to negotiate the price offered if you have good credit, reasonable debt ratios, and secure established income. It’s also good to note that mortgage specialists usually represent only new bank clients and not current homeowners whose mortgages are up for renewal is something else to keep in mind.
Pre-Approvals with CIBC
Securing a CIBC mortgage pre-approval can be done in a number of ways. The easiest way is to visit the website, but you can also begin an application over the phone and schedule a meeting with a CIBC mortgage representative.
How To Get The Best CIBC Mortgage Rate
CIBC rates can be negotiated, like most big-bank mortgage rates. As long as you have a strong credit rating, a better deal is almost always possible. Before negotiating your rate it helps to do your research first. Compare the rate that you’ve been provided by other lenders to the rates available. Make sure that you compare apples with oranges. In other words, try to ensure you have the same terms features and conditions for the rates you are comparing. Then you ask CIBC to see if they can beat those rates, and start the negotiating.
In order to win or keep your business, most bank mortgage specialists will be flexible and will come down on their initial offer. If they don’t, be prepared to take your business elsewhere and let them know that you will be shopping around at other lenders for the best rates.
One final tip. CIBC private banking and customers of Imperial Banking are reported to sometimes receive slightly better rates than regular customers.
How To Renew A CIBC Mortgage
If you are a current and existing CIBC client looking to extend or renew your mortgage, you can almost definitely rule out being offered the lowest discretionary rates from the lender. Like most of the big banks, discretionary pricing is reserved as a method to woo new bank clients.
Renewal rates should be negotiated down from your original offer as a price for a new purchase. Be confident that with comparative rate research and a good credit record, you can support your counter-offer and potentially get a great rate. Start the process at least 90 days in advance to leave time to shop around with other lenders if the bank is not willing to negotiate with you.
Pros Of CIBC
Getting a mortgage with CIBC has a number of benefits:
- Security: CIBC and its other peers are considered to be the most reputable lenders in the whole country. They have a nearly endless supply of resources which allows them to have the best security and methods in place that will ensure top-notch security of your information.
- Full-service: When you do open a mortgage up with CIBC, you will have the ability to utilize a full range of banking products, investment accounts, and secured or unsecured loans. Many people like CIBC because it is a convenient one-stop-shop for everything financially related.
- Convenience: CIBC has a number of different branches throughout the country which makes scheduling a meeting in person is simple. With clients that prefer more modern methods, there is a mobile app, online website, and phone to keep communication convenient. If you don’t prefer to meet at your own home, advisors are also willing to meet you at a place that is more comfortable for you. Many CIBC locations are open late and throughout the weekend, including Sundays.
- Free credit score: CIBC isn’t known to be the only bank that provides clients free accessibility to their credit scores, but it is a very useful feature that would cost around $19 a month if you were to get this done at a credit rating agency. This feature is only available to CIBC mobile banking app users.
Cons Of CIBC
Getting a mortgage with CIBC also has a couple of cons:
- Possibility of higher rates: CIBC isn’t the only bank that this can happen to. All Big 6 banks typically have higher rates than you might be able to get from other lenders. Special rates that are on a limited-time basis can sometimes even be higher than what you would find at a non-big bank lender. That’s not even considering their inflated posted rates.
- Mortgage penalties can be higher: The Big banks typically have higher penalties that are incurred with fixed-rate mortgages. If you break your CIBC mortgage early, this will cause a prepayment charge that is known as an IRD (Interest Rate Differential) penalty. These penalties are extremely high because they are based on the bank’s high posted rates.
- Restrictive options: One specific disadvantage of getting a mortgage from one of the big banks is that they usually only sell their own mortgages. This means that you wo n’t have the best access for a mortgage that is tailored to your situation. If you look around long enough, you will be able to find mortgages that are more flexible for a more appealing rate. Some of the benefits that other lenders will have over CIBC are bigger prepayment options, skip-a-payment, better mid-term refinancing rates.
- Shorter rate hold period: Some of the other Big banks offer 120-day and 130-day rate holds. CIBC’s rate holds are 90 days. For some people, this may not be a big issue, but a longer rate hold will mean that you can go around and compare rates with other lenders. Fixed-rate pre-approvals are available with a 120-day rate holds.
CIBC Mortgage Calculators
There is a wide range of mortgage calculators with CIBC that can help you with your financial planning, cost comparison, and shopping comparisons. Some of the calculators that are available are:
- Mortgage affordability calculator
- CIBC mortgage selector
- Home equity calculator
- Mortgage payment calculator
- Mortgage prepayment calculator
- Rent vs. own calculator
CIBC’s Prime Rate
CIBC, along with the other Big banks, set the benchmark prime rate for the country. The prime rate will fluctuate when the Bank of Canada’s overnight rate is increased or decreased. CIBC’s prime rate is typically the same as the Big bank average.
Stats About CIBC
- As of the first quarter of 2018, CIBC has a mortgage portfolio that includes over $203 billion in residential loans
- CIBC has 1,076 branches
- All provinces in Canada are served
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