Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's shares fell 2.9 per cent yesterday after the bank said it would raise about C$2.75bn (US$2.7bn) in stock sales to a group of investors to help prop up its balance sheet.

The bank said it would take almost $2.5bn in pre-tax writedowns related to the US subprime woes. CIBC, Canada's fifth-largest bank, said late on Monday that it had enlisted a group of investors to inject C$1.5bn through a private placement.