Fifth Third Bank 2007 Annual Report Download - page 7
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Please find page 7 of the 2007 Fifth Third Bank annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.Letter From the President & CEO
in2004,90percentofourbrancheswerelocatedin
Midwesternmarkets.Uponcompletionofourpending
acquisitions,24percentofourfranchisewillbeinthe
Southeast,withanadditional14percentofourbranches
locatedinthestrongandgrowingChicagomarket.
In2007,weannouncedourintentiontoacquireR-GCrown
BankandFirstCharterBank.AcquiringR-GCrownin
November2007hasgivenourCompanyafootholdinthe
vibrantJacksonvillemarketaswellasAugusta,Georgia,
andalsoservestoreinforceourpositionsinTampaBayand
Orlando.FirstCharter,thefourthlargestbankbydeposits
intheCharlotte,NorthCarolinamarket,offeredusasizeable
entrypointintothisrapidlygrowingstate,whilealsogiving
usasmallpresenceinAtlanta.Oncethistransactioncloses,
FifthThirdwillhavestrongpositionsinboththeMidwest
andSoutheastthatwecangrowthroughbuildingnew
(denovo)branchesandopportunisticM&Aactivity.Youwill
seeafurtherdiscussionofourevolvinggeographicposition
inafewpages.
During2007,wesawcontinuedprogressionofourCustomer
ExperienceinitiativethatIrstdiscussedinlastyear’s
AnnualReport.Overall,Retailcustomersatisfactionisnow
inthetopquartileofourcompetitorsbasedonindependent
surveys.Whilethisisamarkedimprovement,itwillremain
anareaofcontinuedfocusforusasweexpecttomake
furtherheadwayinthecomingyear.Infact,wewillberolling
outsimilarcustomersatisfactioninitiativesacrossourother
businessunits,startingwithCommercialBankingandFifth
ThirdPrivateBank.
In2007,thepercentageofourcustomerswhodescribed
themselvesas“loyal”increasedby10percentagepoints
comparedtomid-2006whenwerstbegantrackingthis
metric.LoyalcustomersareincrediblyvaluabletoFifth
Third:theyhavesignicantlylowerattritionrates,higher
accountbalancesandahigheraveragenumberofproducts
thanothercustomers.Allofthesefactorsleadtoenhanced
protability,andwehaveanumberofwaysweareworking
toincreasecustomerloyalty.
Oneofthemostimportantaspectsofbeingabletoretain
loyalcustomersisourabilitytoprovideproblem-free
service.However,ifaproblemdoesarise,wehaveplaced
increasedemphasisonensuringthatitishandledquickly
andefcientlywithoutrepeatedcustomerhandoffs.Ournew
EscalationCenterservesasanintegratedresourcewhere
particularlycomplexissuescanberesolvedeffectively.
Throughout2007,wecontinuedtoimproveourtechnology
foundationthroughbranchnetworkupgrades,an
enterprisecustomerinformationplatform,andupgrades
toourmainframes,serversanddatacenters.Withthese
improvementsinplace,wenowenjoyincreasedcapacityto
supporttheCompany’sgrowthaswellasaccesstocustomer
dataacrossthefootprint.Comprehensiveproduction
qualityscorecardswereimplementedandaresystematically
monitoredtoensureourinternalandexternalclientsreceive
outstandingservice.
InsupportofourCustomerExperiencestrategicinitiative,
anautomatedcustomerissuetrackingsystemwasrolledout
toensureeffectiveproblemresolutionforourcustomers.
Bankingcenterandcallcenterstaffnowhaveconsistent
informationoncustomerissuesrightontheirdesktops,and
automatedworkowsensurequickresolutions.
Commercialbankingremainsagreatstrengthforour
Companyand,in2007,wedevelopedstrongmomentum
withourcorporatebankingproducts.Wecontinuedtohire
toptalentandgainmarketshareacrossourfootprintand
anticipatethiswillcontinuein2008.Additionally,weexpect
tocapitalizeonmarketdisruptionoccurringinourfootprint
resultingfromlargecompetitoracquisitionsandother
developmentsamongcompetitors.Thispresentsuswith
auniqueopportunitytoattractnewtalentandcustomers
duringthistransitionalperiod.
Oursuccessinbothinstitutionalsalesandinterestrate
derivativescontinuedin2007,withrevenueforthese
productsincreasingby37percentand28percent,
respectively.Wecross-selltheseproductsintoourexisting
customerbase,andalsoareabletorealizemeaningful
revenuesynergieswhenweacquirecompaniesthat
lackthem.Theseproductswereformerlyunavailableto
customersofR-GCrownandFirstCharter,andtheywill
provideincrementalrevenuestreamsgoingforward.
Wealsocontinuetofocusonexpandingourpresencein
theHealthcaresegment.OurperspectiveontheHealthcare
spacehasexpandedtoincludepharmaceuticals,outpatient
surgerycenters,dialysisanddurablemedicalequipment
lending,inadditiontolong-termcarefacilities.Withexperts
thattrulyunderstandtheeld,weareabletodiversifythe
typeofbusinesswebringintotheBank.Asaresultofour
effortsinthisspace,weadded$1.4billionofcommitments
andgeneratedfeeincomeof$15millionin2007.
FifthThirdProcessingSolutionscontinuedtodeliver
exceptionalorganicgrowth,particularlyinmerchant
processing,whererevenuewasup21percentonayear-
over-yearbasis.We’vetargetedthegiftcardprocessing
andissuancesectorandhavemadesignicantstrideshere–
we’renowtheissuerforseveralofthenation’slargest
restaurantandpharmacychains.Wealsorealizeda
16percentincreaseincardissuerinterchangethisyear,
drivenbyoursuccessinexpandingourcreditcardportfolio.
Celebrating 150 Years |