LONDON, February 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Investor-Edge.com has issued free post-earnings coverage on Fifth Third Bancorp. (NASDAQ: FITB). On January 21, 2015, the company reported its financial results for Q4 FY14 and full year FY14 (period ended December 31, 2014). Click on http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Fifth%20Third%20Bancorp.&d=03-Feb-2015&s=FITB to read our free earnings review on Fifth Third Bancorp (Fifth Third). During Q4 FY14 and FY14, the company recorded net income available to common shareholders of $362 million, or $0.43 per diluted share, and $1.4 billion, or $1.66 per diluted share, respectively. Vice Chairman and CEO of Fifth Third, Kevin T. Kabat, informed that the company's FY14 earnings included solid performance across business lines highlighted by growth in corporate banking, payments processing, and investment advisory revenue. Our free coverage report can be accessed at:

http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Fifth%20Third%20Bancorp.&d=03-Feb-2015&s=FITB

Earnings Overview

During Q4 FY14, Fifth Third return on average assets was 1.13%, while return on average common equity and return on average tangible common equity stood at 10.0% and 12.1%, respectively. The company's net interest income on fully taxable equivalent (FTE) basis decreased to $888 million in Q4 FY14 from $905 million in Q4 FY13. Further, the company's total noninterest income fell 7% Y-o-Y to $653 million in Q4 FY14. The free research on FITB can be downloaded as in PDF format at:

http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Fifth%20Third%20Bancorp.&d=03-Feb-2015&s=FITB

In the reported quarter, Fifth Third's net interest margin on FTE basis decreased 8% Y-o-Y to 2.96%, while Q4 FY14 net interest rate spread on FTE basis was down 9% Y-o-Y to 2.77%. During Q4 FY14, the company's net income available to common shareholders fell by $21 million from $383 million in Q4 FY13. Further, Fifth Third's diluted earnings per share remained unchanged from Q4 FY13 value of $0.43. Analysts from Bloomberg had expected net income available to common shareholders of $357 million, or $0.43 per diluted share, in Q4 FY14.

For Q4 FY14, the company's commercial loans and leases portfolio increased 6% Y-o-Y to $54.27 billion, while consumer loans and leases portfolio improved 1% Y-o-Y to $36.78 billion. Further, the company total average loans and leases grew 4% Y-o-Y to $91.04 billion in Q4 FY14. Additionally, in Q4 FY14, Fifth Third reported total deposits of $99.35 billion, up 3% Y-o-Y. During Q4 FY14, the company repurchased 10 million common shares. Sign up and read the free analyst's notes on FITB at:

http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Fifth%20Third%20Bancorp.&d=03-Feb-2015&s=FITB

As of December 31, 2014, Fifth Third's Tier 1 common equity ratio improved 1 basis point Y-o-Y to 9.65%, while tangible common equity to tangible assets ratio stood at 8.71% (8.43% excluding securities portfolio unrealized gains/losses). The company's Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio and total risk-based capital ratio was 10.83% and 14.33%, respectively, as of December 31, 2014. Additionally, Fifth Third recorded leverage ratio of 9.66% as of December 31, 2014.

In FY14, Fifth Third's net income fell 19% to $1.5 billion from net income of $1.8 billion in FY13. During FY14, the company's net income available to common shareholders was also down 21% to $1.4 billion, or $1.66 per diluted share, from $1.8 billion, or $2.02 per diluted share, in FY13. Analysts from Bloomberg had expected net income available to common shareholders of $1.4 billion, or $1.67 per diluted share in FY14.

Mr. Kabat stated that Fifth Third's nonperforming assets were down 24% from last year and remained at very low levels. The company's credit metrics were moving in the right direction and provided further support to Fifth Third's positive credit outlook, he added. He also said that the company continued to prudently and actively manage its capital position, reducing share count by another 4% in FY14. He concluded that the company made a number of decisions throughout 2014 to reduce risk and volatility of earnings, and management feels that the company is well positioned as they enter 2015. Visit Investor-Edge and access the latest research on FITB at:

http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Fifth%20Third%20Bancorp.&d=03-Feb-2015&s=FITB

Stock Performance

On the day of the earnings release, January 21, 2015, Fifth Third's stock declined 3.04% to end the session at $17.53. Since then, the stock has moved both ways with gains outperforming the losses. On the last close, Monday, February 02, 2015, the company's shares finished 3.35% higher at $17.88, after vacillating between $17.41 and $17.97. A total of 12.59 million shares were traded which was above its three months average volume of 8.07 million shares. Over the last one month and over the past three months, the company's shares have lost 11.53% and 10.56%, respectively. However, the stock has gained 3.83% in the previous three trading sessions. Shares in Fifth Third are trading below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $19.43 and $20.19, respectively. Furthermore, the stock traded at a PE ratio of 9.79 and has a Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 33.31.

Sneak Peek to Corporate Insider Trading

In the last one month, Fifth Third has not reported any share transactions by insiders to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Complimentary in-depth research on FITB is available at:

http://get.Investor-Edge.com/pdf/?c=Fifth%20Third%20Bancorp.&d=03-Feb-2015&s=FITB

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