Ohio-based Fifth Third Bancorp is seeing gains from its investments in new branches in the Southeast U.S. and its digital banking platform.
Fifth Third generated year-over-year household growth of 2.3%, with that figure being 6% in the Southeast, Fifth Third Chairman, CEO and President Tim Spence said Tuesday during the bank’s quarterly earnings call.
By one measure, for the second consecutive year, Fifth Third was ranked No. 1 among all large banks in year-over-year retail deposit growth, Spence said.
“Our investments to expand our Southeast branch footprint and in our differentiated Momentum Banking platform continued to drive outsized growth in granular low-cost deposits,” Spence said during the call.
The bank opened 31 new branches in 2024 and expects to open 60 new branches in the Southeast in 2025, Spence said. He added those branches “should set us up well to continue to gain market share.”
Fifth Third plans to add 200 branches over the next four years, especially in Southeast markets, according to a December press release. Currently, it operates about 1,100 branches, mostly in the Midwest. By the end of 2028, it expects to have 50% of its branches in the Midwest and 50% in the Southeast.
In its Momentum Banking products and mobile app, Fifth Third added features in July that make it easier for customers to switch their direct deposit, to avoid paying fees when they overdraft accounts, and to secure their identity and financial assets.
Expanding the number of branches aids in acquiring customers and growing deposits, Fifth Third Chief Financial Officer Bryan Preston said during the call.
The bank is targeting high-growth Southeast markets and is also adding to its sales force in its middle market, commercial payments and wealth businesses to “increase our production capacity to support our strategic growth initiatives,” Preston said.
Looking ahead to 2025, Spence said there are many reasons to feel optimistic about the banking sector as a whole.
“The underlying economy is solid and most business owners are more optimistic about 2025 than they were about 2024,” Spence said. “The combination of front-end rates above zero and some steepness in the yield curve is a more constructive setup than we’ve had in quite some time. We may also be on the cusp of a shift in the direction of regulation, which could unlock new opportunities.”
