Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) saidit sought acquisitions valued at more than CAD1 billion. The move was after CIBC tried to boost the amount of profit it would make from wealth management.

CIBC Chief Executive Officer Gerry McCaughey said on Wednesday, "Much of the growth that we are planning will come from the U.S. and will be focused on asset management, private wealth management and private banking."

McCaughey also said during the Scotiabank Financials Summit in Toronto that the bank had set its acquisition targets in Canada.

CIBC had directed its focus on wealth management. This was after the new global Basel III rules that had mandated banks to hold more capital on their balance sheets.

McCaughey said, "As we have worked through the universe of potential acquisitions, it has become clear that choices improve as we expand the size of the universe under consideration. We are now open to considering acquisitions in excess of C$1 billion that would accelerate how fast we get to 15 percent."