FITB

Fifth Third Bancorp

The Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. At December 31, 2009, the Bancorp had $113 billion in assets, operated 16 affiliates with 1,309 full-service Banking Centers including 103 Bank Mart® locations open seven days a week inside select grocery stores and 2,358 Jeanie® ATMs in the Midwestern and Southeastern regions of the United States. The Bancorp reports on four business segments: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending and Investment Advisors.

The Bancorp believes that banking is first and foremost a relationship business where the strength of the competition and challenges for growth can vary in every market. The Bancorp believes its affiliate operating model provides a competitive advantage by keeping the decisions close to the customer and by emphasizing individual relationships. Through its affiliate operating model, individual managers from the banking center to the executive level are given the opportunity to tailor financial solutions for their customers.

The Bancorp’s revenues are dependent on both net interest income and noninterest income. For the year ended December 31, 2009, net interest income, on a fully taxable equivalent (FTE) basis, and noninterest income provided 41% and 59% of total revenue, respectively. Changes in interest rates, credit quality, economic trends and the capital markets are primary factors that drive the performance of the Bancorp. As discussed later in the Risk Management section, risk identification, measurement, monitoring, control and reporting are important to the management of risk and to the financial performance and capital strength of the Bancorp.

Net interest income is the difference between interest income earned on assets such as loans, leases and securities, and interest expense incurred on liabilities such as deposits, short-term borrowings and long-term debt. Net interest income is affected by the general level of interest rates, the relative level of short-term and long-term interest rates, changes in interest rates and changes in the amount and composition of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities. Generally, the rates of interest the Bancorp earns on its assets and pays on its liabilities are established for a period of time. The change in market interest rates over time exposes the Bancorp to interest rate risk through potential adverse changes to net interest income and financial position. The Bancorp manages this risk by continually analyzing and adjusting the composition of its assets and liabilities based on their payment streams and interest rates, the timing of their maturities and their sensitivity to changes in market interest rates. Additionally, in the ordinary course of business, the Bancorp enters into certain derivative transactions as part of its overall strategy to manage its interest rate and prepayment risks. The Bancorp is also exposed to the risk of losses on its loan and lease portfolio as a result of changing expected cash flows caused by loan defaults and inadequate collateral due to a weakened economy within the Bancorp’s footprint.

Net interest income, net interest margin and the efficiency ratio are presented in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations on an FTE basis. The FTE basis adjusts for the tax-favored status of income from certain loans and securities held by the Bancorp that are not taxable for federal income tax purposes. The Bancorp believes this presentation to be the preferred industry measurement of net interest income as it provides a relevant comparison between taxable and non-taxable amounts.

Noninterest income is derived primarily from service charges on deposits, mortgage banking revenue, corporate banking revenue, fiduciary and investment management fees and card and processing revenue. Noninterest expense is primarily driven by personnel costs and occupancy expenses, costs incurred in the origination of loans and leases, and insurance expenses paid to the Federal Depository Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

On June 30, 2009, the Bancorp completed the sale (hereinafter the “Processing Business Sale”) of a majority interest in its merchant acquiring and financial institutions processing business. As a result of the sale, the Bancorp recognized a pre-tax gain of approximately $1.8 billion. Under the terms of the sale, Advent International acquired an approximate 51% interest in the business. The Bancorp accounts for the retained noncontrolling interest in the business under the equity method of accounting.