Thursday, October 22, 2009

Fifth Third Bancorp reports third quarter loss

CINCINNATI -- Fifth Third Bancorp today reported a third quarter 2009 net loss of $97 million, compared with net income of $882 million in the second quarter of 2009 and a net loss of $56 million in the third quarter of 2008. After preferred dividends, the third quarter 2009 net loss available to common shareholders was $159 million, compared with net income of $856 million in the second quarter of 2009 and a net loss of $81 million in the third quarter of 2008. In the third quarter, the net loss was .20 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $1.15 per diluted share in the second quarter and a net loss of .14 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2008.

Third quarter 2009 results included a pre-tax net benefit of $288 million from the sale of Fifth Third's Visa, Inc. Class B common shares. This benefit consisted of a pre-tax gain of $244 million on the sale of the Class B shares and the recognition of a derivative that transfers the conversion risk of the Class B shares back to the Bancorp, and a $44 million net reduction in noninterest expense related to the reversal of an existing litigation reserve. Third quarter results also included the release of additional Visa litigation reserves due to Visa's supplemental funding of its litigation escrow account, which reduced noninterest expense by $29 million. In total, these items benefitted earnings by $317 million pre-tax, or .26 per diluted share after-tax.


Second quarter 2009 results included a pre-tax gain of $1,764 million related to the processing business transaction with Advent International, and a pre-tax charge of $55 million related to the special FDIC deposit insurance fund assessment. Second quarter 2009 net income available to common shareholders also included a $35 million benefit, recorded as a reduction to preferred dividend expense, reflecting the excess of the carrying value of preferred shares over the fair value of the common shares and cash exchanged through our tender offer for Series G preferred stock. Third quarter 2008 reported results included net charges of $83 million pre-tax: a $51 million charge due to the impairment of preferred stock held in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a non-cash charge of $45 million related to Visa's settlement with Discover, a non-cash charge of $27 million to lower the cash surrender value of one of our Bank-Owned Life Insurance (BOLI) policies, and a net benefit of $40 million related to the satisfactory resolution of a court case stemming from goodwill created in a prior acquisition.

Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. As of September 30, 2009, the Company has $111 billion in assets, operates 16 affiliates with 1,306 full-service Banking Centers, including 100 Bank Mart® locations open seven days a week inside select grocery stores and 2,372 ATMs in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Georgia and North Carolina.  Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com . 

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