Fifth Third Bank 2014 Annual Report Download - page 3

2014 ANNUAL REPORT | 1
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A Message to Our Shareholders
Dear Fifth Third Shareholders,
If you have banked with us lately, you may have noticed
that something is dierent. at’s because at Fih ird,
we have been changing the way we do business.
We are repositioning the Company for a new age in banking.
In today’s world, this isn’t a simple task, nor is it singular in
its eects. It touches every part of our Company.
We are doing important work to enhance our culture and
our reputation as a well-run institution, one that provides
valuable solutions for our customers while appropriately
balancing risk and reward. We are continuing our eorts
to achieve the right business mix – one that produces
less volatile, more sustainable earnings growth – while
providing a good return for our investors and great
opportunities for our employees. Finding the right mix is
as much about the opportunities we pursue as it is about
the activities from which we choose to refrain. And, we
will continue to simplify the business in every way we
can by taking complexity out of processes and systems
and focusing on hiring and retaining strong talent. As we
think about the future of our Company in this context, we
continue to pursue our four main strategies: distinctive
execution, focused segmentation, innovation, and
accelerating growth. Across all of our businesses, we are
doing exceptional work.
As we make our plans, we are closely attuned to the cyclical
nature of interest rates and the impact of external forces
on our industry. Competition from banks and non-banks
is intense. Evolving consumer behavior and technology
are challenging the status quo. Although the economy has
shown modest signs of improvement, progress has been
uneven and the low interest rate environment remains
a headwind. Heightened regulatory and supervisory
expectations continue to create substantial uncertainty,
although some signicant areas of regulation, like capital
and liquidity requirements, are coming into focus. It’s clear
to us: e realities of the near-to-medium term climate for
the nancial services industry make the case for change.
Our 2014 nancial performance demonstrated our
ability to eectively address those things and, equally
eectively, execute on our business plans. Our results in
the years ahead will reect the repositioning that is already
underway and our objectives to drive outperformance and
positive dierentiation from our peers. e expectations –
from our customers, our investors, our employees, and our
regulators – are that we continue to pursue operational
excellence and successfully mitigate all categories of
KEVIN T. KABAT
Vice Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer