CINCINNATI, Nov 02, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Fifth Third Bancorp today announced $896,500 in grants made from its CRA Enterprise Investment Fund (EIF). Directed by Fifth Third's Community Affairs department, the EIF is designated for Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) initiatives and programs to strengthen CRA lending, investment and service performance across the Company. To date in 2011, Fifth Third has invested $1,262,500 in local communities through the EIF.

Fifth Third Bancorp's affiliates apply for funding and awards are made several times per year. The markets receiving EIF funds in this second round are: Central Florida, Central Indiana, Eastern Michigan, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Northeastern Ohio, Tampa Bay, and Western Pennsylvania.

"The CRA Enterprise Investment Fund was established so that we could put the resources of our Company into our local affiliate markets," said Gregory Imm, director of Community Affairs. "Our local leadership know their markets and help us to identify the most urgent needs. We feel we can make the greatest impact in local communities."

Contributions from the EIF must directly benefit low- and moderate-income individuals and/or geographies, designated disaster areas; or distressed or underserved non-metropolitan middle-income geographies. They must also have the primary purpose of community development. Project descriptions for the affiliates include:

• Central Florida was awarded $50,000 from the EIF to work with the Urban League of Central Florida to support its Financial Empowerment Summit.
• Central Indiana was awarded $200,000 for the Indiana Equity Fund, Inc. for the Community Investment Fund of Indiana. Funds will be used to support small business and micro-enterprise, and community revitalization projects, including affordable housing and commercial development.
• Eastern Michigan received $75,000 to support Southwest Solutions and programs like the Family Wellness Center, Piquette Squares for Veterans and its Family Literacy Program. A $50,000 EIF grant also will be utilized by Midtown Micro-Enterprise Loan Fund for business development workshops in the community.
• Georgia will supportD & E Financial Education and Training Institute with $60,000 for credit and financial education; invest $50,000 with Resources for Residents and Communities of Georgia, Inc. for homeownership programs, and use $25,000 to support Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership and its foreclosure response program.
• Kentucky received $25,000 for Shively Area Ministries in Louisville for expansion of its food pantry program, reduction of its debt and establishment of an endowment for emergency assistance programs.
• North Carolina will use its $20,000 EIF grant to support the Charlotte Minority Economic Development Initiative to accelerate the economic impact of Charlotte's minority-owned enterprises.
• Northeastern Ohio will support University Park Alliance, an urban reinvestment strategy; Friends of Breakthrough, the largest charter school in Cleveland; and Neighborhood Progress, Inc., an organization that employs investment strategies to stabilize neighborhoods with foreclosures, with $50,000 each through the EIF.
• Tampa Bay received an $80,000 allocation on behalf of the Tampa Bay Black Business Initiative Fund, Inc. to provide technical assistance to African American small businesses.
• Western Pennsylvania will use its $76,500 allocation for the Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group to help stabilize neighborhoods and provide down payment assistance for housing services to low- and moderate-income people.

Fifth Third Bancorp (Nasdaq: FITB) is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Company has $115 billion in assets and operates 15 affiliates with 1,313 full-service Banking Centers, including 103 Bank Mart(R) locations open seven days a week inside select grocery stores and 2,439 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 Vantiv, LLC, formerly Fifth Third Processing Solutions, LLC. Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of September 30, 2011, had $273 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $23 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(R) National Global Select Market under the symbol "FITB." Equal Housing Lender. Member FDIC.

SOURCE: Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp
Stacie Haas, 513-534-5113