Consumer and commercial banking products and services are offered through CIBC Bank USA. Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender. All loans are subject to credit approval. Trust services and investment products are offered by CIBC Private Wealth Management. CIBC Private Wealth Management includes CIBC National Trust Company, CIBC Delaware Trust Company and CIBC Private Wealth Advisors, Inc. (a registered investment adviser) all of which are wholly owned subsidiaries of CIBC Private Wealth Group, LLC — and the private banking division of CIBC Bank USA. Trust services and investment products are not FDIC insured, not deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed by, CIBC Bank USA or CIBC National Trust Company, and are subject to investment risk, including loss of principal.
Commercial real estate products and services offered by CIBC Bank USA and CIBC Inc.
CIBC Capital Markets is a trademark brand name under which CIBC and some of its subsidiaries, including CIBC World Markets Inc., CIBC World Markets Corp. and CIBC Bank USA, provide different products and services. Capital Markets products are not FDIC insured; not deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed by, CIBC Bank USA; and are subject to investment risk, including loss of principal.
This website is not intended for use by residents of the European Union (EU).
The CIBC Logo is a registered trademark of CIBC, used under license.
©2026 CIBC Bank USA.
Senior Relationship Manager & Head of Newport Beach office
Senior Relationship Manager & Head of Newport Beach office
Kimberly Dwan Bernatz is a senior relationship manager and head of CIBC Private Wealth’s Newport Beach office. In this role, she leads the client service team and the firm’s growth initiatives in the Pacific Southwest. She has more than 25 years of investment, estate, retirement and financial planning experience.
Over the course of her career, Kimberly has worked with high net worth individuals, families and non-profit organizations to craft customized plans for clients in the areas of wealth and estate planning, personal trust and investment management. In predecessor firms, she has also been responsible for team management, setting and implementing sales and marketing strategies as well as for fiduciary and new business risk assessment.
Prior to joining CIBC Private Wealth, Kimberly was a senior vice president and director of wealth management advisory services for First American Trust, FSB and a vice president and business development officer at Northern Trust.
Kimberly received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Southern California and holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and Accredited Estate Planner (AEP®) certifications. She is also a member of the Orange County Estate Planning Council, the Financial Planning Association of Orange County and the Hoag Hospital Foundation Planned Giving Advisor Council.
Additionally, Kimberly serves as past chairman of the board of directors for the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, is a past chairman of the Pacific Chorale board of directors and is a founding member of the Center for Investment and Wealth Management at the University of California, Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business.
Kimberly has been quoted and published in The Wall Street Journal, The Orange County Register, http://moneyrates.com/ and Nonprofit Business Advisor.
The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ in the U.S.
