Fifth Third Bank continues to expand presence in Raleigh.

RALEIGH, N.C., May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Fifth Third Bank today announced the opening of a new financial center inside the Kroger store at 1610 Martin Luther King Boulevard in southeast Raleigh. This location, known as a Bank Mart, will offer the surrounding community the convenience of 7-day banking as well as extended hours until 8 p.m. on weekdays.

Fifth Third Bank now has 57 locations in North Carolina, including six in the Triangle. In addition to the six consumer financial center locations, the bank also has a mortgage lending and commercial banking presence in the Triangle housed at the Atrium building on Blue Ridge Road.

"We are very pleased to open our first North Carolina Bank Mart location in southeast Raleigh and look forward to serving the financial needs of community members and business owners," said Fifth Third's North Carolina market president, Tom Heiks.  "By being open 7 days a week and weekdays until 8 p.m., along with our outstanding customer service, we believe we will offer the community a banking experience that is unmatched in the Triangle."

"We are excited that Fifth Third Bank will be opening an office at one of our Raleigh stores," said Shannon Toth, district manager for Kroger Mid-Atlantic, which operates 16 stores throughout the Triangle and North Carolina. "This will be a great asset to the community, as it allows our customers to enjoy personal and business banking opportunities at the same time when they want or need to go shopping. We are pleased to partner with this esteemed organization as it begins operations at our store."

The new Fifth Third location will initially employ a team of eight including Financial Center Manager, Kimberly Edwards and Mortgage Lender, Ernie Sigala.

The bank will hold a ribbon cutting on Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 11a.m. which will include the North Carolina senior management team from Fifth Third, Kroger executives and local community leaders. The community is invited to attend and light refreshments will be served.

Fifth Third and Kroger will also team up to fight hunger in the Triangle at the ribbon cutting event. Fifth Third will donate $5,300 to Urban Ministries and Kroger will be supplying two pallets of food items to fight hunger in the community and celebrate the grand opening of the Fifth Third location.

About Fifth Third Bancorp:
Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Company has $117 billion in assets and operates 15 affiliates with 1,315 full-service Banking Centers, including 105 Bank Mart® locations open seven days a week inside select grocery stores and 2,404 ATMs in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Georgia and North Carolina. Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending, and Investment Advisors. Fifth Third also has a 39% interest in Vantiv Holding, LLC, formerly Fifth Third Processing Solutions, LLC. Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of March 31, 2012, had $296 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $26 billion for individuals, corporations and not-for-profit organizations. Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Fifth Third's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ® National Global Select Market under the symbol "FITB."  Fifth Third Bank.  Member FDIC.   

SOURCE Fifth Third Bank