Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) reported Q4 EPS of $0.41, ex-items, $0.01 better than the analyst estimate of $0.40.

• 4Q15 net income available to common shareholders of $634 million, or $0.79 per diluted common share
• Includes a $331 million pre-tax (~$215 million after-tax) gain on the sale of Vantiv shares, an $89 million pre-tax (~$58 million after-tax) gain on Vantiv warrant actions taken during the quarter, a $49 million pre-tax (~$32 million after-tax) payment received from Vantiv to terminate a portion of its tax receivable agreement, a $21 million pre-tax (~$13 million after-tax) positive valuation adjustment on the remaining warrant Fifth Third holds in Vantiv, a $10 million pre-tax (~$7 million after-tax) charge related to the valuation of the Visa total return swap, and a $10 million pre-tax (~$7 million after-tax) contribution to Fifth Third Foundation, resulting in a net $0.38 impact on earnings per share.

“Core fourth quarter results were in line with our expectations,” said Greg D. Carmichael, President and CEO of Fifth Third Bancorp. “Our fee businesses produced stable results despite lower levels of capital markets activity, and our expenses were up less than one percent relative to the third quarter, excluding the contribution we made to our Foundation in support of our communities. We were also pleased with the low charge-off levels at 34 basis points. We view the Fed’s December rate move as a positive first step towards a normalized environment but there is uncertainty around the extent and timing of the future rate decisions.

“Additionally during the quarter, we have taken important steps towards reducing our direct ownership stake in Vantiv in the best interest of our shareholders while reducing a significant amount of volatility associated with our warrant position. Vantiv continues to perform well and we were happy to participate in their success. In this quarter we executed on all three pieces of our financial interests, namely the TRA, warrants, and direct ownership in a well-planned manner to maximize the returns to our shareholders. After these transactions, we continue to hold a significant ownership stake in the company which we believe will result in healthy returns for our shareholders.

“We view 2016 as an important transition year tactically and strategically to position our company to achieve operating leverage in a sustainable manner regardless of the rate environment going forward. In 2015 we took significant steps in that direction and we will continue our efforts in 2016. We are working simultaneously on long-term revenue growth as well as expense efficiencies to achieve our goal. We have taken actions to reduce our run-rate expenses and those savings will partially fund the strategic investments and expenses related to our risk and compliance infrastructure which we expect will peak in 2016. Our strategic decisions will continue to result in the re-allocation of our resources to improve profitability with reduced volatility. We are committed to achieving the industry leading level of operational results that our constituents have historically seen from us when it comes to service, efficiency, growth, and returns.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) click here.