Fifth Third reports rise in fourth-quarter profit on higher interest income

Jan 20 (Reuters) - U.S. regional ⁠bank Fifth ⁠Third ‍Bancorp on Tuesday reported a rise in fourth-quarter profit, helped by higher interest income as loan demand picked ‍up.

Stable economic growth, a string of Federal Reserve rate ​cuts and easing concerns over the impact of tariffs have lifted sentiment across ​the U.S. economy, prompting households and businesses to step up borrowing.

Lower financing costs reduce the interest borrowers have to pay on new and existing ​loans, making credit more affordable.

Fifth Third's net interest income, the difference between what banks pay on pays on deposits and ​earns as interest on loans, rose 6% to $1.53 billion. Its total loans grew 5%.

The ‌lender's wealth and asset management revenue jumped 13% to record $185 million in the fourth quarter, while its commercial ​payments revenue rose 8%.

Fifth Third's assets ⁠under management jumped about 16% to $80 billion.

However, the Cincinnati, Ohio-based bank's capital markets fees fell 2% ‌to $121 million, driven by lower loan syndications revenue.

"In 2025, we opened 50 branches in our high-growth Southeast markets," Fifth Third CEO Tim Spence ‌said.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Federal Reserve approved Fifth Third's acquisition of Comerica, ‌an all-stock deal worth $10.9 billion that was announced in October.

The bank's net interest margin, which measures the profitability of lending operations, increased to 3.13% from ‍2.97%, a year earlier.

The net income available to common shareholders rose to $699 million, or $1.04 per share, ⁠in the three months ended December 31, compared with $582 million, or 85 cents per share, a year earlier.

Shares of Fifth Third gained 10.7% in 2025, lagging KBW Banking Index.

(Reporting by Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)

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