From the Fifth Third Bancorp 2020 ESG Report: Communities

Sep 23, 2021 12:20 PM ET

Fifth Third is committed to helping people achieve their best lives through responsible financial solutions that are right for individuals and the community. Experience has taught us that we are capable of improving lives and making generational, transformative impacts in the communities we serve.

COMMUNITY COMMITMENT

Fifth Third closed out 2020 by celebrating the successful conclusion of our five-year, $32 billion Community Commitment. The Bank exceeded the financial commitment made to our communities by investing $41.6 billion—30% above our goal—in mortgage, small business and community development lending and investments.

We also delivered $378 million in Fifth Third impact programming, surpassing our pledge to deliver $213.2 million in additional housing and small business technical assistance, financial empowerment programming, inclusion initiatives and supplier diversity, branches and staffing, and other programs and services. As part of our impact programming pledge, Fifth Third delivered $112.9 million in philanthropy.

The Community Commitment was announced in 2016 as a $27.5 billion plan over five years. Later that year, that amount was increased to $30 billion upon consultation with hundreds of community groups and the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. In 2018, the Bank expanded the commitment to $32 billion in consideration of its planned expansion in Chicago.

“The community benefits agreement we established with Fifth Third Bank in 2016 was one of our first and largest,” said Jesse Van Tol, CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. “We are happy to see the agreement come to fruition over the past five years. We also look forward to continuing our work with Fifth Third to ensure low- and moderate-income communities and communities of color have access to the banking services they need to build wealth.”

COMMUNITY ADVISORY FORUM

To help guide our efforts in the communities we serve, Fifth Third operates a national Community Advisory Forum and five regional CAFs based in Chicago, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina and Ohio. Comprised of community leaders working in a variety of industries, CAF members bring their unique talents, experience and diversity together to advise our Company as we work to improve lives where we operate. The national and regional CAFs have sponsors who are members of Fifth Third’s executive team. Executive Vice President Kala Gibson and Senior Vice President Stefanie Steward-Young lead the national CAF. While we have had a CAF operating in a limited capacity for over a decade, we formalized our CAF strategy as part of our five-year $32 billion Community Commitment.

COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT PERFORMANCE

Our Community Reinvestment Act rating from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is “Outstanding.” This rating represents an evaluation of Fifth Third Bank’s CRA activities from Jan. 1, 2014 through June 30, 2016. Due to the Bank’s conversion in 2019 to a national bank chartered by the Office of the Comptroller of Currency, the next CRA exam is expected to occur in 2022.

To read the complete Communities section of the Fifth Third Bancorp 2020 Environmental, Social and Governance Report, visit 53.com.