Fifth Third Bank plans to shut down 23 branches by the end of 2023, according to a regulatory filing from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
The Cincinnati-based lender is concentrating its consolidation efforts in the Midwest, with plans to shutter eight branches in Ohio, five in Michigan, three in Kentucky, two each in Indiana and Florida, and one each in North Carolina and Illinois, according to the filing.
The bank closed 41 branches last year, a Fifth Third spokesperson told American Banker.
In its filing, Fifth Third also noted two branch openings — in Florida and North Carolina. Fifth Third opened 12 branches in 2022, and is targeting 30 to 35 branch openings this year, according to American Banker.
The bank has accelerated its Southeast push over the past five years. Fifth Third’s deposits in that region are growing at a 7.3% annual clip, while the growth rate in the Midwest is around 2.4%, Fifth Third CEO Tim Spence told at a conference last month, according to American Banker.
“We’re gaining share in both households and deposits, and the new branches are achieving breakeven in the two- to three-year range,” Spence said.
The OCC filing comes during a week in which Fifth Third also announced it would launch a feature meant to give access to tax refunds five days early for customers using the bank’s Momentum checking account.
The free feature will be available late this month. To qualify, customers must direct-deposit their refunds into their Momentum account.
Howard Hammond, head of Fifth Third’s consumer bank, touts the Cincinnati-based lender as the first traditional bank to roll out such a feature. Digital banks such as Chime and Current used early access to government stimulus payments as a selling point to grow their customer bases in the COVID-19 pandemic’s early days.
