Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce CIBC settles ENRON case.
There's an article in the August 15, 2005 issue of MACLEANS magazine that talks about The US $2.4 billion lawsuit settlement with regards to the ENRON company.

The shareholders of ENRON sued CIBC and CIBC agreed to pay US $2.4 billion to "settle the mountainous sum".

Apparently this is the largest single hit in the banking history. CIBC Admitted to "no wrong doing". This means that they settled without admitting any guilt.

There's some huge indication that they did "some" wrong because they settled for such a huge amount. As the consumer is aware, the banks don't usually budge unless they have to.

Well... that's news you don't see every day.

July 21, 2005

CIBC Story - canada.com
This illegal activity committed by CIBC is on the commercial side. It just goes to show that even a Canadian bank that wants to get aggressive will push the laws.

For the purpose of this website, it leaves me to wonder how much the banks push the rules as far as the consumer goes. I think they do it all the time but don't have to answer because the average Canadian person doesn't have the financial or legal might to take on the mighty banks.

It's when the Canadian or U.S. authorities get involved, the banks have met their match. The banks have more legal and financial resources than they do. As well, the governments can publicize their offences without feeling like they're going to have major lawsuits against them. Even if the banks sued the government, they both have enough assets and resources to absorb these actions.

How can the average Canadian consumer get this type of legal control over the banks? I'm sure that if they could, more than one Canadian person would sue a bank or other powerful financial institution.