Case Name :      CIBC-Barclays: Should Their Caribbean Operations Be Merged?

Authors :           Paul W. Beamish, Don Wood

Source :             Ivey Publishing

Case ID :            904M67

Discipline :        Strategy

Case Length :    18 pages

Solution Sample availability : YES

Plagiarism : NO (100% Original work)

At the end of 2001, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) and Barclays Bank PLC were in advanced negotiations regarding the potential merger of their respective retail, corporate, and offshore banking operations in the Caribbean. Some members of each board wondered whether this was the best direction to take. Would the combined company be able to deliver superior returns? Would it be possible to integrate, within budget, companies that had competed with each other in the region for decades? Would either firm be better off divesting regional operations instead? Should the two firms just continue to go it alone with emphasis on continual improvement? A decision needed to be made in the coming week.