CIBC Announces First Women in Leadership Social Bond Framework in Canada

CIBC announced Canada's first social bond framework focused on corporations with a demonstrated commitment to women in leadership roles. The bonds will help meet a growing demand among institutional investors for socially responsible investments and generate awareness of the importance of gender diversity across corporate Canada.

Bonds offered under this new framework support CIBC's corporate lending to companies where:

• a minimum of 30% of the board or executive positions are held by women, OR;
• they are signatories of the Catalyst Accord 2022
• in addition, all companies included must have a minimum of one woman on the board and one woman in an executive position

"This new social bond framework focused on gender diversity will bring a new investment option to the institutional bond market, reflecting the growing demand among clients for socially responsible investments," said Susan Rimmer, Managing Director and Head of Global Corporate Banking for CIBC Capital Markets.

"A social bond focused on women in leadership roles sends a clear signal about the importance of gender diversity as a business imperative," added Ms. Rimmer.

Information about the new bond framework is available here.