Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) said it has made a minority investment in StoneCastle Partners, an asset management and financial services company dedicated to investing and serving the community banking sector.

CIBC joins Charlesbank Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity firm, as a minority investor in StoneCastle. CIBC’s investment will support the continued growth of StoneCastle as it seeks to expand the products and services it provides to community banks and institutional investors.

“We are very pleased to have CIBC, one of the world’s strongest banks as an investor in our company. After achieving rapid growth in assets under management in 2011, we are on pace for an even stronger year in 2012. CIBC’s support is a vote of confidence in our community bank focused strategy and will help us move our business to the next level,” said Joshua Siegel, managing principal of StoneCastle Partners.

New York, NY-based StoneCastle is an investor in community banks and has developed a large and growing network of relationships with banking institutions located throughout the U.S. The company currently manages more than $4 billion in assets and offers cash management, capital market, and advisory services to banks and institutional investors.