Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

Introduction

In two others posts I presented the twenty largest employers in Toronto according to level of employment (see A Short List of the Largest Employers in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) and the twenty largest employers in Canada according to profit (see A Short List of the Largest Private Employers in Canada, According to Profit). The largest employer, in terms of employment, is the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

I have tried to calculate the rate of exploitation of workers of Magna International in an earlier post (see The Rate of Exploitation of Workers at Magna International Inc., One of the Largest Private Employers in Toronto, Part One); Magna International is one of the largest employers in Toronto.

The Nature of the Rate of Exploitation

But what is the rate of exploitation? And why not use the usual rate of profit or the rate of return? The rate of profit is calculated as profit divided by investment. Since employers purchase both the means for work–buildings, computers, office supplies, raw material–and hire workers–we can classify investment into two categories: c, meaning constant capital, or the capital invested in commodities other than workers; and v, or variable capital, the capital invested in the hiring of workers for a certain period of time (wages, salaries and benefits).

The purpose of investment in a capitalist economy is to obtain more money (see The Money Circuit of Capital), and the additional money is surplus value when it is related to its source: workers working for more time than what they cost to produce themselves. The relation between surplus value and variable capital (or wages and salaries) is the rate of surplus value or the rate of exploitation, expressed as a ratio: s/v.

When the surplus is related to both c and v and expressed as a ratio, it is the rate of profit: s/(c+v).

In Marxian economics, you cannot simply use the economic classifications provided by employers and governments since such classifications often hide the nature of the social world in which we live. The rate of profit underestimates the rate of exploitation since the surplus value is related to total investment and not just to the workers. Furthermore, it makes the surplus value appear to derive from both constant capital and variable capital.

I decided to look at the annual report of some of the largest private companies in Toronto and Canada if they are available in order to calculate the rate of exploitation at a more micro level than aggregate rates of surplus value at the national or international level. Politically, this is necessary since social democrats here in Toronto (and undoubtedly elsewhere) vaguely may refer to exploitation–while simultaneously and contradictorily referring to “decent work” and “fair contracts.” Calculating even approximately the rate of exploitation at a more micro level thus has political relevance.

Conclusions First

As usual, I start with the conclusion in order to make readily accessible the results of the calculations for those who are more interested in the results than in how to obtain them.

We have the following:

Income before income taxes: $6,656=s
Employee compensation and benefits: $5,539=v

The rate of exploitation or the rate of surplus value is s/v; therefore, s/v is 6,656/5,539=120 percent.

This means that, for every hour worked that enables her/his to obtain a wage, a CIBC worker works 72 minutes (or 1 hour 12 minutes) for free for CIBC. Alternatively, in terms of money, $1 of wage or salary of a regular bank worker results in $1.20 surplus value or profit for free.

in a 5.75 hour working day, CIBC workers spend 157 minutes (2 hours 37 minutes) to obtain their wage for the day, and they spend 188 minutes (3 hours 8 minutes) in obtaining a surplus value or profit for CIBC.
For a six-hour working day, follow the same procedures as above, but replace 345 by 360: result: in a 6-hour working day, CIBC workers spend 164 minutes to obtain their wage for the day, and they spend 196 minutes in obtaining a surplus value or profit for CIBC.
7-hour working day: 420 minutes: in a 7-hour working day, CIBC workers spend 191 minutes to obtain their wage for the day, and they spend 229 minutes in obtaining a surplus value or profit for CIBC.
7.5-hour working day: 450 minutes: in a 7,5-hour working day, CIBC workers spend 205 minutes to obtain their wage for the day, and they spend 245 minutes in obtaining a surplus value or profit for CIBC.
8-hour working day: 480 minutes: in an 8-hour working day, CIBC workers spend 218 minutes to obtain their wage for the day, and they spend 262 minutes in obtaining a surplus value or profit for CIBC.
10-hour working day: 600 minutes: in a 10-hour working day, CIBC workers spend 273 minutes to obtain their wage for the day, and they spend 327 minutes in obtaining a surplus value or profit for CIBC.

CIBC workers do not belong to a union. Would their becoming unionized turn their situation into one where they had a “fair contract” and “decent work?” I think not. Unions can limit exploitation and can control some aspects of their working lives, but in principle workers are things to be used by employers even with unions. This does not mean that a non-unionized environment is the same as a unionized environment. With unions that are independent of particular employers, that is to say, are real unions, there is an opportunity for workers to develop organizations of resistance against the power of particular employers.

The ideology of unions–that somehow they can produce a “fair contract” and “decent work”–needs, though, to be constantly criticized. Workers deserve better than the acceptance of such ideology by the left.

Data on Which the Calculation Is Based

Now, the calculation:

In millions of Canadian dollars:

Revenue: $18,611

Net interest income $ 10,551
Non-interest income $8,060

Provision for credit losses $1,286
Non-interest expenses $10,856

Employee Compensation and Benefits:

Salaries: $3,081
Performance-based compensation: $1,873
Benefits: $772

Total employee compensation: $5,726

Other expenses:

Occupancy costs: $892
Computer, software and office equipment: $1,874
Communications: $303
Advertising and business development: $359
Professional fees: $226
Business and capital taxes: $110
Other: $1,366

Total other expenses: $5,130

Income before income taxes (Revenue minus provision for losses minus non-interest expenses): $6,469 ($18,611-$1,286-$10,856=$6,469).

Adjustments

In Marxian theory, it is necessary to question whether some expenses are expenses for both the individual employer and for the class of employers (and fractions of their class, such as those who live on interest); in such a case, the expense is deducted from total revenue. On the other hand, there are expenses that are expenses for the individual employer but are not expenses when looked at from the point of view of the class of employers; in such an instance, they are paid out from the surplus value produced or obtained by workers and are to be included in income before taxes.

It is necessary, however, to make adjustments on the revenue side; From https://www.payscale.com/research/CA/Employer=Canadian_Imperial_Bank_of_Commerce_(CIBC)/Bonus :

How much does Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) pay in bonuses?

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) pays an average of C$4,962 in annual employee bonuses. Bonus pay at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) ranges from C$1,014 to C$30,521 annually among employees who report receiving a bonus. Employees with the title Information Technology (IT) Director earn the highest bonuses with an average annual bonus of C$30,521. Employees with the title Customer Service Representative (CSR) earn the lowest bonuses with an average annual bonus of C$1,014.

Although there is no direct evidence to indicate whether such bonuses form part of “Performance-based compensation,” there is indirect evidence.

Bloomberg notes the following (https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/canada-s-bankers-face-the-bleakest-bonus-year-in-almost-a-decade-1.1358606):

The Canadian banks pay bonuses based on performance, with most of the variable compensation going to capital-markets employees such as investment bankers, research analysts and those in sales and trading. …

Senior investment bankers will see a 10 per cent decline in compensation from last year, hurt by fewer financings and a decline in mergers-and-acquisitions activity, according to Vlaad & Co. Junior investment bankers will see little change in their payouts following three years of increases, while those in sales, trading and research will see compensation fall 15 per cent to 25 per cent, and fixed-income employees will face a similar decline, the firm said.

Most employees, whether executive or not, seem to be eligible to some support of bonus as a function of performance. However, the gap between executive pay and the pay of regular employees has widened over the years, so it is reasonable to infer that the category “Performance-based compensation” is divided into two parts: one part is a function of the number of hours worked by regular employees as well as the intensity of that work; the other is based on the extent to which bank managers and senior executives are successful in exploiting those regular employees. Evidence for such exploitation is indirect, via the level of compensation of some senior executives. For example, Victor Dodig, president and CEO, received $9,017,000 in total compensation in 2019 (salary, $1,000,000; share-based awards, $4,806,420; option-based awards, $1,201,560; Non-equity GPS awards, $1,501,950; Pension value, $505,000; all other compensation, $2,250) (CIBC Proxy Circular 2020, page 79).

It is impossible to determine the proportion of bonuses that form part of salaries and bonuses that represent the exploitation of bank workers. Some facts may, however, be relevant. From https://www.comparably.com/companies/cibc/executive-salaries:

The average CIBC executive compensation is $270,917 a year. The median estimated compensation for executives at CIBC including base salary and bonus is $253,828, or $122 per hour. At CIBC, the lowest compensated [executive] makes $52,000.

It is probable that even middle-level bank executives receive some surplus value or profit through the exploitation of regular bank workers. This means that part of their compensation is a function of how much work regular bank workers work for nothing or for free.

Given that the level of income for top executives is far beyond the level of income of even the lowest executive, as well as the fact that the average executive compensation is almost five times the level of the lowest executive (not even taking into account additional compensations for senior executives), it is probably reasonable to assume that a minimum of 10 percent of the “Performance-based compensation” comes from the exploitation by senior bank executives of regular workers.

It would be necessary to have more detailed information to determine whether more or less of the money obtained in this category were distributed between regular bank workers and management executives. If regular bank workers received more, then the rate of exploitation would be less than the rate calculated below. If management executives received more, then the rate of exploitation would be more than the rate calculated below.

On the assumption of 10 percent, though, this means that 10 percent of the total of “Performance-based compensation, ” is reduced by 10 percent, or $187,300,000, and that amount is added to “Income before income taxes.” As a consequence, we have the following:

Adjusted Results

Income before income taxes: $6,656=s
Employee compensation and benefits: $5,539=v

The Rate of Exploitation of CIBC Workers

The rate of exploitation or the rate of surplus value is s/v; therefore, s/v is 6,656/5,539=120 percent.

This means that, in terms of money, $1 of wage or salary of a regular bank worker results in $1.20 cn surplus value or profit for free (calculated as follows–you can skip this calculation if not interested in how the result was obtained). Alternatively, for every hour worked, a CIBC worker works 72 minutes (or 1 hour 12 minutes) for free for CIBC.

s/v=1.2
multiplying s/v and 1.2 by v (multiplying both sides by v does not change the equation), we have (s timesv)/v=1.2v;
Dividing v by itself in the left-hand part of the equation in 2 above results in 1 (any number divided by itself except 0 is equal to 1, and any number multiplied by 1 is the same number), so we have: s=1.2v
We can use this equation to calculate the division of the working day into time required to obtain the equivalent of the wage for workers at CIBC and the time they provide free of charge to obtain surplus value for CIBC.

According to a few people who have worked at CIBC, the length of the working day is:

8 hours a day

Work hours are manageable and flexible. The company is accommodating with every schedule.

They vary – just like it does anywhere.

8 hours in a day, 1 hour for break and lunch.

8-10 hours

I work 7.5 hours each day.

6 – 5.75 hours a day, 4 days a week. for the last 1.5 years

Evidently, the length of the working day varies for workers at CIBC. I will calculate the division of the working day from the shortest to the longest in the above quotes accordingly. I use minutes rather than hours. I provide more detail for the calculation for the first one so that others can more easily calculate similar rates in the cities where they live.

A 5.75- hour working day: 345 minutes;
We can use this information to create an equation:
v+s=345;
We also have the equation s=1.2v from above;
We can therefore replace, in equation 3 above, s by 1.2v since they are the same.
We now have: v+1.2v=345;
From 6, we have 2.2v=345
Dividing both sides by 2.2 does not change the equation, so the result is: v=345/2.2=157 minutes (rounded to the nearest minute).
Since v+s=345, we have 157+s=345;
Subtracting 157from both sides does not change the equation, so now we have s=345-157=188 minutes
So, in a 5.75 hour working day, CIBC workers spend 157 minutes (2 hours 37 minutes) to obtain their wage for the day, and they spend 188 minutes (3 hours 8 minutes) in obtaining a surplus value or profit for CIBC.
For a six-hour working day, follow the same procedures as above, but replace 345 by 360: result: in a 6-hour working day, CIBC workers spend 164 minutes to obtain their wage for the day, and they spend 196 minutes in obtaining a surplus value or profit for CIBC.
7-hour working day: 420 minutes:i n a 7-hour working day, CIBC workers spend 191 minutes to obtain their wage for the day, and they spend 229 minutes in obtaining a surplus value or profit for CIBC.
7.5-hour working day: 450 minutes: in a 7,5-hour working day, CIBC workers spend 205 minutes to obtain their wage for the day, and they spend 245 minutes in obtaining a surplus value or profit for CIBC.
8-hour working day: 480 minutes: in an 8-hour working day, CIBC workers spend 218 minutes to obtain their wage for the day, and they spend 262 minutes in obtaining a surplus value or profit for CIBC.
10-hour working day: 600 minutes: in a 10-hour working day, CIBC workers spend 273 minutes to obtain their wage for the day, and they spend 327 minutes in obtaining a surplus value or profit for CIBC.

It should be noted that I have used the verb “obtain” rather than “produce.” In Marxian economics, bank workers, as well as sales workers do not produce surplus value but rather transfer the surplus value already produced. This does not mean that these workers are not exploited capitalistically; they are used impersonally by the employer to obtain surplus value and a profit. Furthermore, things produced by others are used by employers such as CIBC to control their working lives in order to obtain surplus value or profit. (I leave the issue of how banks exploit workers as consumers to others more competent to deal with the issue; the point here is to focus on the exploitation of bank workers as workers and not as consumers.)

Tag: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

The Rate of Exploitation of the Workers of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), One of the Largest Private Employers in Toronto and in Canada