Fifth Third Bancorp reported second-quarter net income of $763 million, or $0.83 per diluted share, as its acquisition of Comerica drove substantial gains across revenue and earnings.
The Cincinnati bank's net interest income jumped 48% year-over-year as Comerica contributed for a full quarter for the first time
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Fifth Third Bancorp reported second-quarter net income of $763 million, or $0.83 per diluted share, as its acquisition of Comerica drove substantial gains across revenue and earnings.
Net income rose 29% from $591 million, or $0.88 per diluted share, a year ago, a period when the company's outstanding share count was lower. Excluding merger-related charges and other one-time items, adjusted earnings were $1.02 per diluted share. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected $0.84 per share, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Net interest income climbed 48% year-over-year to $2.22 billion, with Fifth Third citing the full-quarter contribution from Comerica, organic loan production, continued fixed-rate asset repricing, and deposit pricing management. Net interest margin expanded 6 basis points sequentially to 3.36%.
Noninterest income rose 41% to $1.06 billion. Wealth and asset management revenue grew 54% to $256 million, commercial payments revenue rose 67% to $254 million, and capital markets fees increased 71% to $154 million. Those gains also reflected the full-quarter addition of Comerica's business.
Noninterest expense climbed 67% to $2.11 billion, with $203 million in pre-tax merger-related charges among the primary drivers; compensation and benefits costs were up 62%, and the technology and communications line roughly doubled. Excluding merger-related charges and other items, adjusted noninterest expense was $1.86 billion, up 5% sequentially.
Total average deposits reached $232 billion, up 42% year-over-year. Period-end consumer deposits grew $4.6 billion in the quarter, supported by a Comerica retail deposit campaign that Tim Spence, Fifth Third's chief executive, said exceeded internal targets.
Credit quality improved. The net charge-off ratio fell to 0.30%, the lowest since the second quarter of 2023, down from 0.45% a year earlier. The provision for credit losses dropped 25% year-over-year to $129 million.
The quarter marked Fifth Third's first to surpass $300 billion in total assets, a threshold that makes it a Category III institution under U.S. banking regulations. The company said it is prepared to meet all Category III requirements on or before required dates.
Fifth Third's CET1 capital ratio was 9.93%, up 4 basis points from the prior quarter. The company said there was no share repurchase activity in the first half of 2026.
The systems conversion related to the Comerica integration is scheduled for Labor Day weekend, which Fifth Third said is the final step to realizing the full run-rate of expected cost synergies.
Fifth Third shares were up 1.6% to $60.29 ahead of the market open.
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