In Brief: Fifth Third Closes Deal For Cleveland Thrift

Fifth Third Bancorp said it had completed its acquisition of Emerald Financial Corp., the parent company of Strongsville Savings Bank.

The $670 million-asset thrift, which has $560 million of deposits and is based in Cleveland, will be merged into Fifth Third's northeastern Ohio bank, the company said.

In the tax-free exchange, 0.30 shares of Fifth Third Bancorp common stock were swapped for each share of Emerald Financial.

The acquisition makes Fifth Third Ohio's second-largest bank, with 77 branches in metropolitan Cleveland. Fifth Third has two other acquisitions pending: its $2.1 billion purchase of CNB Bancshares of Evansville, Ind., and a $228 million deal to buy Peoples Bank Corp. of Indianapolis.

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