The bank is pledging to lend another $2 billion in a market where it has invested $3.6 billion in various community development initiatives since 2016. Most of the new funds will be used to make loans to small businesses that operate in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.

Two of three hires announced by the agency come from the Ohio bank, where the FDIC chairman formerly served as a top executive.

The Atlanta company, which reported fourth-quarter results Tuesday, said that the lending partnership with American Express will launch in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and Dallas within the next 60 days.

Fifth Third is helping consumers — and millennials in particular — save for big-ticket purchases with a new tool that squirrels away small sums into an account that can’t be immediately accessed.

The exemption was included in a suite of other changes unveiled to provide greater transparency to the Fed's stress testing regime.

Consolidation of midsize firms in health care and other industries is expected to heat up in 2019. That’s welcome news to banks that have recently acquired boutique M&A advisory firms.

CEO Greg Carmichael says the Cincinnati bank will hire bankers in Denver, Dallas and Houston as part of a broader expansion into fast-growing markets that are home to lots of midsize firms. It is also interested in buying more fee-based businesses.

Student loan debt — now at $1.5 trillion in the U.S. — is arguably the greatest pain point for consumers in their 20s and 30s. To court that demographic, banks are increasingly offering help with refinancing and repayment.

Fifth Third Bank customers were swindled out of over $100,000, but not because the bank didn't have protection in place.

Raises for the rank and file have fueled investor complaints that banks aren’t keeping a lid on expenses. Executives say the pay increases have lowered turnover and improved customer service.