Fifth Third Bank Honored as 'Model Bank' for Transaction Processing

CINCINNATI, June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Fifth Third Bank (Nasdaq: FITB) has won the 2010 Model Bank Award for transaction processing from the research and consulting firm Celent. The award was presented at Celent's Innovation and Insight Day in New York City.

The Bank received the award for its Remote Currency Manager (RCM) solution, which automates the cash management process for retailer's cash transactions as part of an integrated receivables suite of solutions.

Fifth Third Bank introduced RCM in 2007 as an innovative remote cash capture solution, working in coordination with smart safe technology and bank-approved armored couriers. RCM is the first component of an innovative receivables solution of cash, checks and cards designed to meet the needs of the retail sector. The solution allows merchants that accept cash over the counter to help increase working capital, reduce operating expense and compliments loss prevention policies.

"Fifth Third Bank has evolved in the way we provide Treasury Management solutions to our customers and we are honored that we've earned international recognition for our efforts in working capital management," said Jeff Ficke, senior vice president and Director of Treasury Management for Fifth Third Bank.

RCM clients gain provisional credit to their bank accounts, while cash remains in the safe, enabling daily use of funds. Fifth Third Bank has automated the internal reconcilement of these transactions, moving from a paper-based process to an electronic system that allows the Bank to scale to meet clients' needs.

In winning this award, Fifth Third Bank is among 18 financial institutions from across the world recognized by Celent as industry leaders for their best online and technology practices.

"Celent is pleased to present Fifth Third Bank with this award," said Jacob Jegher, senior analyst in Celent's banking group and author of the report. "Among many excellent nominations this year, Fifth Third Bank was selected for its work in transaction processing demonstrating how the most successful recipe for an effective payments operation includes a payments strategy that considers all of the financial institution's payment types."

Fifth Third Bank's case study for transaction processing is featured in Celent's 2010's report, "Celent Model Bank 2010: Case Studies of Effective Technology Usage in Banking." The report is available online at www.celent.com.

Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.  The Company has $113 billion in assets, operates 16 affiliates with 1,309 full-service Banking Centers, including 102 Bank Mart® locations open seven days a week inside select grocery stores and 2,362 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 49% interest in Fifth Third Processing Solutions, LLC.  Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of March 31, 2010, had $190 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $25 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."

SOURCE Fifth Third Bancorp