Fifth Third’s acquisition of Comerica is a transformative move for the bank. News of the deal was also one of the most important moments in US banking in 2025, creating the industry’s ninth-largest bank by assets.
Fifth Third grabbed an important opportunity in Comerica but it is far from reliant on M&A for growth. It opened 50 new branches in the fast-growing southeastern market in 2025, including its 200th branch in Florida, 100th branch in the Carolinas, and its first branch in Alabama. Just as importantly, its ability to make the most of these new locations is only getting better over time, outperforming peers in deposit growth.
Financially, Fifth Third is one of the top-performing banks in the US in terms of financial returns and efficiency. Total revenue surpassed a record $9 billion in 2025. It is enjoying particular growth in its wealth and asset management, and commercial payments business.
Comerica will only add to this, as it strengthens its presence in core and high-growth markets, and boosts its capability to grow high-returning fee income.
The bank’s growing capability and scale among middle market companies is particularly notable, ranging from treasury management and payments to capital markets. The Comerica deal fuels this growth further thanks to its team’s industry knowledge, notably in environmental services, entertainment and energy. Newline, Fifth Third’s embedded payments platform, generated 53% year-on-year fee growth in 2025, adding or expanding relationships with clients including Circle, Corpay, Rippling, Stripe and Trustly.
On the consumer side, innovation was also a theme. Systems modernisation has allowed the bank to roll out improvements more quickly. The development of its digital assistant Jeanie is one recent example, benefitting efficiency and customer experience. Automated direct-deposit switching, together with its Early Pay and Extra Time features, have been among the bank’s most popular launches in recent years. Other enhancements in 2025 included the launch of free estate planning for mass-market customers in partnership with Trust & Will.
“Fifth Third is a different franchise compared to a decade ago in terms of growth potential,” says Bryan Preston, executive vice president and chief financial officer.
“When we finish the Comerica integration and branch builds in the Southeast and Texas, more than half of our footprint will be in high-growth markets. Comerica is only going to accelerate our capacity to invest because we can free up Comerica’s IT maintenance costs where Fifth Third has built scalable platforms. That allows us to redeploy capital into growth, technology investment and product investment.”
