Fifth Third Bancorp and National Community Reinvestment Coalition Announce Landmark $30 Billion Community Development Plan

The @NCRC and @FifthThird sign landmark, $30 billion community commitment.  Tweet

The plan calls for Fifth Third to invest $30 billion in its communities over a five year period, which began January 1, 2016. Lending and investments of $30 billion covered under this agreement include the following categories: mortgage lending, small business lending, including micro-lending; and community development lending and investing. The agreement also covers $158.4 million in community initiatives, including financial services, branch openings, marketing and research, product development and cooperative public policy advocacy for low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities.

“This substantive and detailed community development plan was the result of a collaborative process with community members and bank leaders,” said NCRC President & CEO John Taylor. “We applaud President & CEO Greg Carmichael and the senior leadership of Fifth Third, who after putting out a significant community commitment earlier in the year, was willing and eager to deeply engage NCRC and its member organizations in significant discussions to ensure the commitments made were in areas of the greatest community need and put in place rigorous accountability for their bank and the communities they serve.”

Fifth Third Bancorp President & CEO Greg D. Carmichael, said, “Fifth Third is deeply committed to both investing significant resources into the community as well as engaging community members and leaders. Our objective is to ensure that, together with the NCRC, we meaningfully impact the communities we serve. We appreciate and value the collaboration with John Taylor and all the NCRC member organizations who met with us to enable the expansion of our original commitment in ways that will best improve lives.”

“Fifth Third and NCRC’s investment in Ohio will create opportunities for businesses and families to seek the resources they need to make their communities stronger,” said U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown. “I applaud these organizations for working with people across the state, and I’m glad their investment will provide meaningful help to Ohioans.”

A summary of the community development plan follows:

LENDING & TAX CREDIT INVESTMENTS: $30 BILLION

MORTGAGE LENDING: $11 BILLION
Fifth Third increased its overall goal for mortgage lending to LMI borrowers and census tracts, and added a home purchase sub-goal. The commitment includes product innovation to address community needs, and includes a Second Look Program, down payment assistance, support for housing counseling, and other activities, including affirmative marketing and outreach, evaluation and improvement of its Fair Housing/Lending program, and the continuation of its current policy of not imposing minimum loan amounts.

SMALL BUSINESS LENDING: $10 BILLION
Fifth Third is committed to improving its lending to small businesses with gross annual revenue below a million in all markets and communities. The commitment includes increased support for small businesses, product innovation, and enhanced underwriting and fulfillment.

COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT (CRA) COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LENDING: $9 BILLION
Fifth Third will strive to achieve peer-leading performance in the amount of combined community development loans and investments (CDLI) over the course of the five-year commitment. Increases in CDLI activities will be supported by initiatives in affordable housing, a revolving loan fund, community development corporations, community development financial institutions, community pre-development resources, housing rehab loan pools and land banks. The Fifth Third Community Development Corporation will also make $1 billion in tax credit investments.

FIFTH THIRD IMPACT PROGRAMMING: $158.4 MILLION

Fifth Third Impact Programming includes: Housing-Related Investments, Small Business-Related Investments, Philanthropy & Community Sponsorships, Diverse Hiring, Supplier Diversity, Financial Empowerment Programming, Services and Basic Banking, including branches and staffing, and other investments and marketing.

Fifth Third will make housing-related investments that address the gap for consumers who need down payment assistance to achieve homeownership, support housing counseling and financial literacy to help families and individuals achieve their long-term financial goals, and help fund housing loan pools for minor home repairs or gap financing to support neighborhood revitalization. Fifth Third Bank will also make small business-related investments that provide technical assistance for small business development and growth, and support the ecosystem for small business lending. The Bank will strengthen communities through significant philanthropic grants and donations and impactful community sponsorships. Charitable giving will include a focus on providing organizations with resources for capacity building, workforce training, and assistance for older adults.

The Fifth Third Impact programming includes branch and staff commitments. Fifth Third will seek to open at least 10 more branches in LMI and/or high minority communities. Fifth Third will establish the position of Senior CRA Mortgage Lender, and continue to retain and hire mortgage loan originators focused on CRA success. It will expand small business staffing with a newly-created role for CRA Small Business lenders.

Fifth Third’s Inclusion and Diversity plan supports the Bank’s commitment to ensure that its human capital is inclusive and diverse. The Bank will increase its efforts to support diverse suppliers, minority-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned businesses.

Fifth Third Impact programming also includes the delivery of Fifth Third’s L.I.F.E. (Lives Improved through Financial Empowerment®) programs, which strive to reach consumers at every age and stage of life through foundational financial education. These programs include, but are not limited to programs for children and teens, including the Fifth Third Bank Young Bankers Club®, and programs for adults like Fifth Third Bank Empower U® adult financial education courses. Fifth Third’s L.I.F.E. programs also include the Company’s Financial Empowerment Mobiles, or eBuses, which deliver financial education, job training, tax preparation and other assistance directly to low- and moderate-income communities on their own and in partnership with local community organizations.

“As a member of the Dayton community, I am pleased to see that Fifth Third has made a commitment to ensuring financial services to low- and moderate-income communities and individuals as well as small businesses,” said Catherine Crosby, executive director, City of Dayton Human Relations Council. “Small businesses are the primary employers in Dayton, which makes it critical to ensure that resources are available not only for financial stability, but also to build capacity through technical assistance. We look forward to continuing our partnership to fulfill mutual goals for economical sustainability in diverse low- and moderate-income communities in Dayton.”

“NHS of Greater Cleveland welcomes the opportunity to continue our partnership with Fifth Third Bank to implement this broad-reaching plan that will positively affect the residents and the communities we serve in northeast Ohio,” said Lou Tisler, executive director, Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland.

“I am delighted that Fifth Third approached NCRC and its Illinois members to jointly create a strong CRA plan based on community needs and input,” said Dory Rand, president, Woodstock Institute. “I look forward to working with them to implement the plan and reap the benefits of increased and improved lending, investments, branches and services in underserved low- and moderate-income neighborhoods in Illinois and across the country.”

Sister Barbara Busch, executive director of Working in Neighborhoods in Cincinnati, said, “I am glad to see that Fifth Third is willing to work with communities to provide equal access to mortgages and other banking products at a competitive rate. I am looking forward to seeing changes in Fifth Third’s products and programs to achieve equity for low- and moderate-income and minority communities.”

“Fifth Third has several branches in Northwest Indiana and organizations here are excited to see increased support for our programs that benefit low- and moderate-income borrowers,” said Jean Ishmon, consulting executive director, Northwest Indiana Reinvestment Alliance. “I am encouraged by the upcoming partnership and have met with some of the new staff. Organizations are hopeful that the Bank will be more actively-involved in our quest to serve the residents of the Gary Metropolitan Statistical Area.”

Deborah Scanlan, CEO of Neighborhood Home Solutions, said, “This agreement is vital for the future communities in the Tampa Bay region—for community development investing, home mortgage lending and capacity building for nonprofit partners of the Bank.”

In addition to NCRC and Fifth Third Bank, the agreement was signed by 136 member organizations:

Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had $143 billion in assets and operates 1,191 full-service Banking Centers, including 94 Bank Mart® locations, most open seven days a week, inside select grocery stores and 2,497 ATMs in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina. Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending, and Wealth & Asset Management. Fifth Third also has an 18.3% interest in Vantiv Holding, LLC. Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of September 30, 2016, had $314 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $27 billion for individuals, corporations and not-for-profit organizations. Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Fifth Third’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ® Global Select Market under the symbol “FITB.” Fifth Third Bank was established in 1858. Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender

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Contact:
Larry Magnesen
Fifth Third Bancorp
[email protected]
513/534-8055

Eric Hersey
National Community Reinvestment Coalition
[email protected]
202/524-4880