Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has agreed to pay $2.4 billion to resolve investors’ claims it helped hide losses at Enron, marking the biggest individual settlement since the energy trader collapsed in a massive accounting fraud.

The settlement announced yesterday with the Toronto-based bank – Canada’s fifth-largest financial institution and the operator of the securities firm CIBC World Markets – could help compensate investors who lost tens of billions of dollars when Enron failed in 2001.

Combined with similar agreements with Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase & Company and others, the settlements have now reached more than $7 billion, lawyers for the wronged investors said.

Some 50,000 Enron stock and bond holders led by the University of California’s board of regents filed claims as part of the lawsuit. Investors claim a number of global banks and brokerages helped Houston-based Enron continue to operate and raise money even as the company was imploding.

“The settlement reflects the level of involvement from CIBC, and reflects the fact they waited for others to settle before them, and that reflects the settlement amount,” the lawyer representing the University of California, which lost $144.7 million when Enron declared bankruptcy, William Lerach, said. “We can’t predict the future, but we’ve said all along that those that settle earlier will do better than those that didn’t come to the table at the appropriate time.”

The approximate damages subject to proof at trial are up to $47 billion, but Mr. Lerach has said the actual awards will be pennies on the dollar. A federal judge in Texas will determine a formula under which claimants would be paid. But investors might not see any funds for more than a year.

Enron investors are still seeking to reach agreements with a number of financial institutions, including Barclays PLC, Credit Suisse First Boston, and Merrill Lynch. Goldman Sachs also is named as a defendant for its role as an underwriter of Enron securities, as are a number of law firms and accountants.