Fifth Third Bank 2009 Annual Report Download - page 8

of the top customer-friendly mobile banking sites.
As I mentioned earlier, 2009 was a record year for our
Consumer Lending line of business, where we generated
over $500 million of mortgage banking revenue. It also was
a strong year for our auto lending operations, which contin-
ued to perform well and benefitted from the retrenchment of
other competitors. In 2009 we increased market share and
improved credit quality for our auto lending operations – a
result that we’re very pleased with considering the operat-
ing environment. Our credit card business outperformed the
industry in 2009 and remains an important relationship
product with our existing customer base. We remain commit-
ted to offering responsible credit solutions to our customers
while maintaining a focus on long-term value creation for
our shareholders.
Our Investment Advisors business was negatively affected
by the market turmoil in the early part of 2009. Our advisors
worked closely with customers during this time to find ways
to help them mitigate the effects of this turmoil and plan
for their futures. These activities have resulted in improved
service levels and customer satisfaction. Within our retail
brokerage segment we posted strong growth in 2009, with
net new brokerage assets of $648 million and year-over-year
insurance revenue growth of 99 percent.
We continue to remain focused on the things we can
control and which add value, and to execute on our core
strategies. We also expect to maintain or develop a market-
leading position where we operate, and expect numerous
opportunities to deepen our presence in our markets as the
industry consolidates further over the next several years.
lookING FORWARD
While we expect better economic conditions and improved
business results in 2010, it will likely be a challenging year
as the economy remains under pressure. Financial regulators
in the U.S. and abroad are considering a wide variety of pro-
posals that will have an impact on all financial institutions.
Many of these proposals focus on size and capital markets
activities, like proprietary trading, which have never been
significant at Fifth Third. Fifth Third’s focus is – and has
always been – traditional banking on a regional and com-
munity basis. We support a number of proposed regulations
to the extent they do not hinder our ability to continue to
extend credit to customers at a reasonable cost.
I believe that the role of strong regional commercial banks
has been reaffirmed by the crisis. Many of the exotic or inap-
propriate types of credit that played such a significant role
in the financial crisis were fueled by non-bank lenders and
secondary loan markets. These sources of credit nearly disap-
peared during the crisis, and may never fully recover or return.
As a result, banks have returned to their traditional primary
role in credit market intermediation, and that plays to the
strengths of community and regional banks like Fifth Third.
We at Fifth Third remain committed to our local markets
and contributing to their economic recovery, by:
• meeting the credit, investment and savings needs of our
communities
• providing a strong value proposition for our customers,
with appropriate products meeting the financial needs
of customers at a fair price
• offering convenience to our customers through our branch
network and other delivery channels
• understanding and supporting local markets and acting
as a good community citizen
Going forward, we will invest in talent management and
promise career development opportunities for our employees.
We will provide tailored solutions for the financial needs of
our customers. And, for our shareholders, we are pledged to
reward your investment in our Company by continuing to
lead, innovate, and outperform our competitors as we move
forward into the future.
Thank you for your confidence in Fifth Third through an
unforgiving and unpredictable environment. We look forward
to better times and better performance in 2010.
Sincerely,
Kevin T. Kabat
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
February 2010
6FIFTH THIRD BANCORP | 2009 ANNUAL REPORT