Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati on Thursday reported a big spike in profits, after selling shares in the payment processor Vantiv.
The $141 billion-asset company earned $657 million, a 71% increase from a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share were 79 cents, missing an estimate of analysts polled by Bloomberg by a penny.
The
-
Fifth Third Bancorp has hired insurance industry veteran Howard McClure as head of insurance services, a newly created position at the Cincinnati company.
January 20 -
Banks have made changes to overdrafts, such as lowering fees offering clearer explanations. They better, as the CFPB will soon offer new rules for overdrafts. Plus, overdraft revenue has declined at many banks. Still unanswered is the question of how to offer short-term credit, if overdrafts disappear.
January 5 -
Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati plans to record a large fourth-quarter gain after selling shares in payment processor Vantiv.
December 3
"We have taken important steps towards reducing our direct ownership stake in Vantiv," said Chief Executive Greg D. Carmichael, adding that Fifth Third continues to "hold a significant ownership stake" in the company.
Fifth Third said
Overall, noninterest income — including the stock transactions — rose 69%, to $1.1 billion. Other fee-based lines of business — such as deposit charges and card processing — remained mostly flat.
Net interest income edged up 2%, to $904 million. Loans grew 3%, to $93.5 billion, mostly from higher commercial and construction balances. The net interest margin shrank 11 basis points, to 2.85%.
Noninterest expenses rose 5%, to $963 million, on higher compensation costs, as well as a $10 million contribution to the Fifth Third Foundation.
