On June 17, 1858, the Bank of the Ohio Valley, founded by William W. Scarborough, opened in Cincinnati, Ohio. On June 23, 1863, the Third National Bank was organized. On April 29, 1871, Third National Bank acquired Bank of the Ohio Valley. In 1888, Queen City National Bank changed its name to Fifth National Bank.[5]
Merger of Third National Bank and Fifth National Bank (1908)
On June 1, 1908, Third National Bank and Fifth National Bank merged to become the Fifth–Third National Bank of Cincinnati; the hyphen was later dropped. The merger took place when prohibitionist ideas were gaining popularity, and it is a legend that "Fifth Third" was better than "Third Fifth", which could have been construed as a reference to three fifths of alcohol.[6] The name went through several changes—the most recent being Fifth Third Union Trust Company[7]—until March 24, 1969, when it was changed to Fifth Third Bank.
Post-merger
The new atrium in the bank's headquarters.
In 1999, the bank acquired Emerald Financial for $204 million.[8]
In May 2018, Fifth Third acquired MB Financial in a $4.7 billion transaction.[12]
In August 2020, the bank signed a partnership with Trust & Will.[13]
In May 2022, Fifth Third acquired Dividend Finance, a San Francisco–based residential solar power lender.[14][15]
In May 2023, the bank acquired Rize Money.[16] Also in May 2023, the bank acquired Big Data Healthcare.[17]
Lawsuits
In December 2016, small business owners sued Fifth Third, along with Vantiv and National Processing Company, for violating telemarketing laws. On August 4, 2022, a $50 million settlement was finalized.[18]
On March 9, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) charged Fifth Third with illegal cross-selling; the suit was resolved in 2024 with the bank paying $20 million and taking remedial actions.[19] A class action suit was filed on behalf of former MB Financial shareholders, alleging that the cross-selling strategy artificially inflated Fifth Third's stock price and thus MB Financial's shareholders were not honestly compensated when the purchase occurred. The case was settled on September 14, 2023, with Fifth Third paying former MB Financial shareholders $5.5 million.[20]
In September 2015, the US Department of Justice and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced an $18 million settlement to resolve allegations that Fifth Third Bank engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against African–American and Hispanic borrowers in its indirect auto lending business.[21]
On April 27, 2023, a jury sided with Fifth Third in a lawsuit filed by customers of its Early Access loan program. The program charged a 10% flat fee. While Fifth Third listed an APR estimate of 120%, the actual APR would be higher if the loan was paid off early due to the fee structure. While the jury agreed Fifth Third breached its loan agreement, it also agreed that customers were fully aware of the fee and thus were not awarded any damages.[22]
On March 8, 2024, the Minnesota Attorney General filed suit against Fifth Third subsidiary Dividend Finance and three other lending companies (GoodLeap, Sunlight Financial, and Solar Mosaic), following an investigation that uncovered they charged Minnesotans $35 million in hidden fees on nearly 5,000 loans to finance sales of residential solar panels. The lawsuit alleges the lenders violated Minnesota state laws against deceptive trade practices, deceptive lending, and illegally high rates of interest.[23][24][25]
