empowering communities

Our Mission

The mission of the Community and Economic Development team at Fifth Third Bank is to responsibly empower underserved individuals, families and communities through the delivery of responsible and innovative financial solutions, leading to financially healthy people and sustainable communities. Community and Economic Development officers are active in the regions Fifth Third serves, collaborating with local community and business leaders to develop comprehensive and holistic solutions that address a community’s most important needs. Fifth Third is committed to increasing access to financial services, increasing mortgage lending in low- and moderate-income communities, increasing small business lending, and helping consumers enhance financial capability.

Fifth Third recently received its Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) public examination rating for the 2011-2013 period. You may find our statement about the rating and our CRA commitment, as well as a copy of our public evaluation here.

Our Commitment

Fifth Third Bank, in collaboration with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), has made a commitment to invest $30 billion in the communities it serves through the year 2020. The plan is focused on serving low- and moderate-income communities and includes the 10 states where Fifth Third has branches. The commitment was developed with strategic insight gleaned from listening sessions with more than 200 community-focused organizations. The plan builds on a $27.5 billion community commitment Fifth Third announced in February 2016.

View a one-page summary of the commitment or read the news announcement.

In the Commitment's first year, 2016, Fifth Third invested $7.88 billion, or 26.3 percent of the total commitment. The results included $3.26 billion of mortgage lending, $1.96 billion of small business lending, $2.64 billion of community development investments and lending, and $19.1 million in philanthropic donations. The impact of those figures was reported in a recent announcement.

The commitment includes lending and investments, including:

• $11 billion in mortgage credit access
• $10 billion in small business lending
• $9 billion in community development lending and investments

Fifth Third’s community development plan also includes $158.4 million in Fifth Third Impact initiatives:

• Housing-related investments
• Small business-related investments
• Philanthropy and community sponsorships
• Diverse Hiring
• Supplier diversity programs
• Financial empowerment programming
• Banking solutions and accessibility (branches, multicultural marketing and product innovation)

Through the plan, Fifth Third has committed to making 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 is also making 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 is seeking to open at least 10 more branches in low- and moderate-income and/or high minority communities. Fifth Third will also establish the position of Senior CRA Mortgage Lender, and continue to retain and hire mortgage loan originators focused on CRA success. It is also seeking to expand small business staffing with a newly-created role for CRA Small Business lenders.

The Bank is committed to ensuring that its human capital is inclusive and diverse. The Bank is increasing 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.