Fifth Third is partnering with Provide and Panacea Financial works with Sonabank in Virginia to meet the specialized needs of medical professionals who own their own practices.

The Cincinnati bank joins a growing list of banks pledging billions of dollars to fight systemic racism and help close the wealth gap that exists between white and minority households.

A former Fifth Third executive recently accused the company of failing to deliver on a promise to make him president because he’s in his mid-50s. The case offers important lessons in hiring and succession planning as the banking industry cuts costs and seeks out younger, digital-savvy managers.

Fifth Third Bancorp promoted Chief Risk Officer Jamie Leonard to succeed Tayfun Tuzun, who will become chief financial officer of BMO Financial Group on Jan. 1. Both companies made other executive moves at the same time.

Spence’s promotion to president could signal that the Cincinnati banking company is grooming him as a potential successor to Chairman and CEO Greg Carmichael.

The Cincinnati company, one of just a handful of lenders to reduce its cushion against bad credits in the third quarter, was grilled by analysts who suggested it was being too optimistic about the long-term effects of the pandemic recession.

House forgiveness plan for Paycheck Protection Program loans is better than nothing, bankers say; why some banks still lean on mainframes; what's next for Goldman Sachs's Marcus; and more from this week's most-read stories.

The bank contends that the misconduct wasn't widespread, but a whistleblower letter unearthed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau points to Chicago as a hotbed of customer abuse. "We are becoming a 'predatory' financial institution," the 2010 letter said.

A conversation with Greg Carmichael, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Fifth Third Bancorp discussing the consumer banking trends and lessons learned during the pandemic.

CEO Greg Carmichael says the Cincinnati company has cut expenses but will proceed with branch openings in the Southeast and investments in its commercial loan and mortgage origination platforms to lay the groundwork for post-pandemic growth.