CIBC CEO Dodig says multiple rate cuts this year are unlikely

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Chief Executive Officer Victor Dodig doesn’t expect a flurry of interest-rate cuts any time soon.

“I’ve never been of the view that there’ll be multiple cuts this year,” he said in an interview after the bank’s annual general meeting at its Toronto headquarters.

Dodig said he does think that economic conditions will soon merit action by the Bank of Canada and other central banks, citing rising unemployment and slower year-over-year wage growth, as well as inflation edging closer to the 2 per cent target. While policymakers probably won’t wait for that goal to be reached before cutting rates, he said, their reductions are unlikely to be particularly aggressive.

“I think we’re going into a world where the back half of this year is likely to see a rate cut — maybe two — in these major developed economies like Europe, Canada and the United States,” Dodig said.