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TORONTO: CIBC's net income rose to $640 million in the fiscal third quarter as revenue held steady and the bank took fewer provisions for credit losses.

CIBC (TSX:CM) had $1.53 per share of net income, compared with $1.02 per share or $434 million in the comparable period of 2009.

Excluding one-time items, the bank's earnings were equal to $1.66 per share, beating consensus analyst expectations of $1.53 per share, according to Thomson Reuters.

Revenue held steady at $2.85 billion versus $2.86 billion.

The bank's provisions for credit losses fell 60 per cent to $221 million.

``The investments we are making in our retail and wholesale businesses are furthering our strength in Canada and positioning us well for the future,'' said president and CEO Gerry McCaughey.

``Given the uncertainty related to the economic recovery and the regulatory environment, we will continue to grow our businesses cautiously while maintaining balance sheet strength and expense discipline.''

CIBC has more than 41,000 employees across its operations including its retail markets, wholesale banking and financial services divisions, which serve more than 11 million individual, small business, commercial and corporate customers.

In June, the bank signed a deal to buy a $2.1-billion credit card portfolio from Citigroup's Canadian MasterCard business, a transaction which makes CIBC Canada's largest issuer of Visa and MasterCard credit cards.

The portfolio includes accounts associated with co-branded Petro-Canada (TSX:SU) credit cards that offer the Petro Points rewards program.