Among the negative items that reduced CIBC's profit in the quarter was a $148-million loss from the settlement of a contract dispute linked to the collapse of Lehman Bros. in 2008.
That item reduced CIBC's first-quarter profit by 27 cents per share.
CIBC's profit was also reduced by one cent per share related to amortization of intangible assets, partially offset by a gain of four cents per share from the sale of a wealth management business that operates in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Overall, however, the bank still managed to report a profit of $1.91 per share, just two cents below the profit in the first quarter of fiscal 2012.
On an adjusted basis, CIBC's profit beat analyst estimates compiled by Thomson Reuters.
Adjusted earnings rose to $868 million or $2.15 per share, seven cents above the consensus estimate.
"CIBC's solid results in the first quarter reflect our strong focus on our clients as well as our underlying business fundamentals," Gerry McCaughey, CIBC's president and chief executive officer, said in the bank's earnings announcement.
"The broad-based performance across our core businesses reflects our first principle, which is to be a lower risk bank delivering consistent, sustainable earnings."
Overall revenue was $3.18 billion, up marginally from $3.16 billion in the first quarter of 2012.
Provisions for credit losses were reduced to $265 million from $338 million a year earlier and $328 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, ended Oct. 31.
In the first quarter of 2012, net income attributable to shareholders was $832 million.
CIBC's core retail and business banking division saw its net income rise to $611 million, up from $567 million a year earlier.
That was offset by a small dip at its wealth management division and a major decline in wholesale banking, primarily related to the Lehman settlement.
CIBCs wealth management division was down $10 million or 10 per cent from the same time in 2012 to $90 million. However, the comparable profit last year included a $37-million gain related to an investment. Excluding that, wealth management's net income was up $25 million or 38 per cent from a year before.
The wholesale banking division saw its net income fall by $42 million or 32 per cent from a year earlier to $91 million, mostly due to the settlement with the Lehman Bros. estate.
CIBC said its next dividend payment will remain at 94 cents per share. The other three banks that have reported first-quarter results so far – Bank of Montreal, Royal and TD – have all hiked their dividends and reported higher Q1 profit.
Analysts had estimated that, on average, the bank would have adjusted earnings of $2.08 per share and revenue of $3.23 billion, according to consensus estimates compiled by Thomson Reuters.
CIBC has more than 42,000 employees across its operations including retail and wholesale banking and financial services, serving more than 11 million customers.
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