CIBC Bank Offers $250 or $500 Bonus on Agility Savings Account

As DA reader, RZ, noted in a Forum post last week, Chicago-based CIBC Bank USA (CIBC) is offering a cash bonus of $250 or $500 to both new and existing Agility Savings account customer, with a limit of one bonus per primary account owner Tax ID. A brief synopsis of this bonus appears on the landing page.

Deposit new funds in your Agility Savings account

Keep in your account for a minimum of 90 days

Receive a cash bonus

How to Qualify for the Bonus

The Terms and Conditions document provides all the details, including,

In order to qualify for an account bonus, you must increase the current balance in your CIBC Bank USA (“CIBC”) Agility Savings account by depositing funds of $25,000 or more of New Money (defined below) from an external bank between 12:00 a.m. ET on November 1, 2023 and 11:59 p.m. ET on December 19, 2023 (the “Funding Period”). The New Money must remain in your account until 11:59 p.m. on March 18, 2024. This offer applies to both new and existing accounts.

Note: CIBC Agility Savings accounts with a balance of greater than $500k are NOT eligible for the cash bonus. If deposits made within the Funding Period result in a balance of more than $500k, the account will NOT qualify for the promotion.

The amount of the bonus is dependent on the amount of deposits made with the Funding Period.

• $250 Bonus – New money deposits of $25,000-$49,999.99 and a minimum $25,000 balance of new money maintained until March 19, 2024.
• $500 Bonus – New money deposits of $50,000 or and a minimum $50,000 balance of new money maintained until March 19, 2024.

Note: Any deposit made after December 19, 2023 will not count toward the new money balance.

Bonus Payout Details

• Bonus will be deposited into the CIBC Agility Savings account no later than May 17, 2024 if the above requirements have been met.
• CIBC Agility Savings account must be opened and not overdrawn at the time of the bonus payout.

My Take on the $250/$500 Bonus and the Agility Savings Account

Earning $500 by maintaining a $50k balance for 90 days is equivalent to an approximate yield of 4%. If you assume the current rate (5.01% APY) remains in effect for the 90 days, the equivalent yield would be close to 9%. This is a compelling offer when you combine the cash bonus with a history of competitive rates.

CIBC launched the Agility Savings account in June 2018, with rates remaining very competitive for just more than a year. The Agility Savings account rate began to drop beginning in late summer 2019 and by the end of 2020, was nearly 40 bps points lower than the highest nationally available savings account APY. In the past 18 months, the Agility Savings account has added 438 bps in more than 20 rate increases.

The CIBC Agility Savings account minimum initial deposit is $1,000, but may not exceed $250k. According to the Terms and Conditions document,

For accounts opened on or after September 28, 2022, deposits that would bring the total balance in your Account to more than $500,000 are not permitted. We reserve the right to refuse or return additional deposits that would cause your balance to exceed this $500,000 limit.

For accounts opened before September 28, 2022, balances up to $1,000,000 are permitted, provided your balance does not fall below $500,000 at any time. If your account balance drops below $500,000 at any time, we reserve the right to refuse or return additional deposits that would cause your balance to exceed $500,000.

For more details about the Agility Savings account transactions (deposits, withdrawals, and ACH transfers), please refer to my June 2022 blog post.

Availability

Headquartered in Chicago, CIBC Bank offers its Agility Online Savings Account to any U.S. citizen/resident alien (18 years or older) who has a current U.S. home address and a valid Social Security number. A U.S. Driver’s License or state-issued ID is also required to open an account.

Accounts can be held in the name of one or more people, “either individually or as a joint tenancy with right of survivorship.” Accounts that are not permitted include trusts, fiduciary, or custodial accounts; in addition authorized signers cannot be designated.

An Agility Online Savings Account can be established as a Payable-On-Death (POD) account after the AOSA has been opened. Up to six beneficiaries (equal shares) can be added by completing a Beneficiary Designation form. Beneficiaries must be individuals, with name, date-of-birth, Social Security number, and phone number required for each beneficiaries.

While CIBC has “personal banking centers” in Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin, the Agility Online Savings account must be opened online.

Bank Overview

CIBC Bank USA has an overall health rating of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 2.69% (excellent) based on June 30, 2023 data. In the past year, the Bank’s total non-brokered deposits have decreased by -$548.81 billion, an average annual growth rate of -1.47%. Please refer to our financial overview of CIBC Bank USA (FDIC Certificate #33306) for more details.

DA readers may remember that CIBC Bank USA used to be The Palladian PrivateBank, a division of The PrivateBank and Trust Company. Established in 1991, The Palladian PrivateBank rebranded as CIBC Bank USA when it was acquired in 2017 by Toronto-based Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. With a combined history of more than 180 years of operation, the Canadian Bank of Commerce and the Imperial Bank of Canada merged in 1961 and rebranded as Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).

According to September 2023 press release, CIBC has awarded grants totaling $450k.

With a focus on improving access to affordable home ownership opportunities, CIBC recently awarded $200,000 to its affordable housing partners in Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee and St. Louis. Through CIBC’s Housing Initiative, the bank offers a wide range of financial housing products and services, including a variety of mortgage loan products, closing cost and down payment assistance, and a team of knowledgeable professionals who focus on home buying solutions.

CIBC also awarded $250,000 to its entrepreneurship training partners across six major US cities. CIBC works with a variety of organizations to offer Entrepreneur Training Programs (ETP). Qualified ETP graduates are eligible for the CIBC Entrepreneur Loan Program. The program provides affordable financing to start-up and early-stage small businesses in Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Palm Beach, San Francisco and St. Louis.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 11/6/2023.

To look for the best rates on liquid bank accounts, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our Money Market Accounts Table and Savings Accounts Table.