Amicus Bank was a wholly owned subsidiary of

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; french: Banque canadienne impériale de commerce) is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District of Toronto, Ontario. ...

(CIBC) which provided non-traditional banking to customers.

Canadian operations

Within Canada, Amicus Bank was primarily responsible for operating

President's Choice Financial President's Choice Financial (french: Services financiers le Choix du Président), commonly shortened to PC Financial, is the financial service brand of the Canadian supermarket chain Loblaw Companies. Two different wholly owned subsidiaries of ...

's retail banking operations, excluding

credit cards A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...

. Amicus Bank briefly provided services under its own name through

Bell Sympatico Bell Internet, originally and frequently still called Sympatico, is the residential Internet service provider (ISP) division of BCE Inc. As of May 3, 2012, Bell Internet had over 3 million subscribers in Ontario and Quebec, making it the large ...

's portal. It also took on the operation of non-branch automated banking machines (primarily stand-alone ABMs at services stations, convenience stores) which were co-branded for Amicus Bank and CIBC. The bank asked for and received approval from the

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

for voluntary dissolution in 2002. Services operated by Amicus Bank were subsequently provided by the direct banking division of CIBC. President's Choice Financial banking services were then rebranded

Simplii Financial Simplii Financial is a direct bank and the digital banking division of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). As of November 2021, the bank had almost two million clients. In 2021, Simplii Financial became the first in Canadian banking ...

after CIBC dissolved its partnership with

Loblaw Companies Loblaw Companies Limited is a Canadian retailer encompassing corporate and franchise supermarkets operating under 22 regional and market-segment banners (including Loblaws), as well as pharmacies, banking and apparel. Loblaw operates a private ...

in 2017. Amicus Bank had 1100 employees in Canada and the US. XtraCash ATM Incorporated (founded 1998) was acquired under Amicus FSB in 2001.

US operations

Amicus had an American unit, Amicus FSB (Amicus Federal Savings Bank), which was formed in 2000 and has since ceased operations due to cancellation of joint ventures south of the border. Amicus FSB partnered with

Safeway Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, d ...

grocery stores in western US states (California, Colorado) and Florida, doing business as Safeway SELECT Bank with 161 locations, and partnered with Winn-Dixie in Florida, doing business as Marketplace Bank (CIBC National) with 185 locations. Amicus set up banking kiosks where customers could make deposits, apply for loans, and withdraw money. The US unit ceased operation at the end of November 2002 with customers with certificate of deposit transferred over to E-Trade Bank. Amicus FSB filed with the

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is one of two agencies that supply deposit insurance to depositors in American depository institutions, the other being the National Credit Union Administration, which regulates and insures cred ...

for voluntary liquidation and closing with operations ceasing on September 29, 2003.

Key people

* Brian Cassidy, CEO of Amicus Bank; now retired * Gary Gray, President of Amicus FSB - Western Division - later became Executive VP of Retail Banking with

Umpqua Bank Umpqua Holdings Corporation, d.b.a. Umpqua Bank, is a financial holding company based in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Headquarters are in the Umpqua Bank Plaza, formerly the headquarters of Benj. Franklin Savings and Loan. The firm ...

References

External links

CIBC Official WebsiteAmicus Bank WebsiteKing Cash Pawnshop
Defunct banks of Canada Banks established in 1999 Banks disestablished in 2003 1999 establishments in Ontario 2003 disestablishments in Ontario Canadian companies established in 1999 Canadian companies disestablished in 2003 {{Canada-corp-stub