The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday, Dec. 23, edition that Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was the top-performing big bank stock in 2023. The Globe's David Berman writes that the bank's secret to success? The stock was a dud in 2022. CIBC benefited from starting 2023 as an out-of-favour stock in a much-maligned sector, giving it the potential to rebound strongly at the first sign of good news. By the start of 2023, the Big Six bank stocks were down by an average of 14 per cent, year-over-year. CIBC performed considerably worse than this average, with a decline of 26 per cent (essentially tied with Bank of Nova Scotia, another notable laggard). However, the past year has delivered an impressive rebound. CIBC's share price gained 15.9 per cent, as of Dec. 21, compared with a Big Six average gain of 4.2 per cent. Part of the reason for CIBC's new-found status as a winning stock is that investors have approached the North American banking sector, in general, far more optimistically over the past month. Mike Rizvanovic, an analyst at Stifel Canada, says, "There's a narrative about a soft landing, and that should benefit banks that have been the laggards."