- Key insight: The deal was the largest bank merger announced in 2025, and is the largest to close so far in 2026.
- What's at stake: Fifth Third must now integrate Comerica, as the combination increased the company's total assets by more than 35%.
- Forward look: The bank will aim to take advantage of legacy Comerica's commercial footprint in regions such as Texas, where it hopes to boost its retail business and market share.
Update: This story includes comments from an interview Monday with Fifth Third CEO Tim Spence.
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Fifth Third Bancorp officially acquired Comerica on Sunday, marking the completion of one of the largest bank deals in recent history.
The acquisition, which was valued at $10.9 billion when it was announced, crossed the finish line less than four months later. Now, Fifth Third will merge its retail strategy with Comerica's commercial footprint in hopes of locking down market share in markets such as Texas and Michigan.
The deal not only signals that merger timelines are getting faster as the Trump administration eases up on regulatory scrutiny, it's also further affirmation that banks are seeking scale to compete.
Fifth Third CEO Tim Spence said in an interview with American Banker on Monday that the company is focused on making sure that customers in the new and expanded markets aren't negatively impacted by the combination with Comerica.
"The absolute size of the company is much less important to me than the role that we play in the markets where we operate," Spence said. "We have a lot of work to do to take two companies and make them one company over the course of the next six months."
Cincinnati-based Fifth Third now has some $294 billion of assets, making it the 16th largest insured depository institution in the country.
But the race to the finish line wasn't completely smooth sailing.
HoldCo Asset Management, an activist investor that had pressured Comerica to sell itself last summer, sued the banks for breach of fiduciary duties related to the transaction, in an attempt to block the banks from combining.
A judge shot down HoldCo's claims last week, paving the way for Fifth Third and Comerica to cross the T's on their agreement.
Fifth Third now has to integrate its purchase. Spence said Monday the bank plans to convert systems over Labor Day weekend.
The company has been investing in building its branch network across the Southeast, and will now also target areas in the Sunbelt.
By 2030, the company plans to have about 1,750 branches, more than half of which will be located in the Southeast, Texas, Arizona and California. In the next four years, Fifth Third said it will invest $600 million to open 150 new locations in Texas, which the bank expects will position it for top-four market share in Dallas, Houston and Austin.
Many analysts have praised the transaction, which, unlike many bank combinations, didn't dilute tangible book value.
From when the deal was announced until the last day of trading before the deal closed, Fifth Third's stock price rose some 13%, and Comerica's had surged more than 25%. In the same time, the Nasdaq Regional Banking index rose less than 9%.
Fifth Third projected in October that the acquisition would boost earnings per share by 9% in 2027 and would include one-time charges of $950 million.
The company expects to generate $850 million in savings, primarily from headcount reductions, but also through the elimination of facilities, systems and vendors. The bank had paused recruiting for open roles to keep positions available for Comerica employees once the companies combined.
Fifth Third has also taken over as the financial agent for the Treasury Department's Direct Express prepaid debit card program. The bank announced it had won the contract, which had previously been Comerica's, in early September, before the two CEOs said they began conversations about combining.
Spence has said that the acquisition of Comerica will eliminate transition risk as Fifth Third runs the program, which disburses federal benefits to about 3.4 million Americans.
On Monday, he said Fifth Third will begin issuing new Direct Express cards in April. The timeline is a few months later than previously expected, Spence said, because the government told Fifth Third to prioritize the integration of Comerica.
"We'll also do the conversion of existing customers several months earlier than we would have," Spence said. "So a little slower to issue cards to new program participants, [but] much faster to impact the entirety of the Direct Express customer base."
