Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) official guidance

We continue to expect total merger-related charges of approximately $1.3 billion, with substantially all remaining charges anticipated in the fourth quarter.

We expect average loan growth of 1%-2% sequentially, led by continued commercial loan growth, primarily in C&I and CRE.

We have already opened 35 additional branches in the Southeast in 2026 and remain on track to open the full 55 that we committed for the full year.

On capital, we expect CET1 to remain within our 10%-10.5% operating range, and we expect to repurchase $200 million-$300 million of stock in the fourth quarter, dependent on the strength of our organic loan growth.

Even after adjusting for normal seasonal strength, our guide delivers the 2026 exit rate profitability at or better than the 19% ROTCE and 53% efficiency ratio we set at the deal announcement, and on the timeline we committed to in January.

For credit, we expect net charge-offs of 30 to 35 basis points in the fourth quarter.

It also places net interest income and the implied PPNR for the full year to be at the high end of the range we provided back in January for the combined company.

We expect net interest income to be up 2.5%-3.5% sequentially, driven by higher yields on floating rate loans, a full quarter impact of the securities deployment, and continued fixed rate asset repricing, partially offset by higher deposit costs.

With the current rate outlook, we see fourth quarter net interest margin at or above the 340 level.

Adjusted non-interest income is expected to be up 2%-4%, reflecting seasonally strong capital markets activity and continued growth in wealth and commercial payments.

We expect the remaining synergy realization to take adjusted non-interest expense down 2%-3%, partially offset by compensation associated with seasonal fee strength and occupancy expense growth associated with fourth quarter branch openings.

It also places net interest income and the implied PPNR for the full year to be at the high end of the range we provided back in January for the combined company.

In total, our guide implies adjusted PPNR to grow 9%-10% from the third quarter.

Even after adjusting for normal seasonal strength, our guide delivers the 2026 exit rate profitability at or better than the 19% ROTCE and 53% efficiency ratio we set at the deal announcement, and on the timeline we committed to in January.

On capital, we expect CET1 to remain within our 10%-10.5% operating range, and we expect to repurchase $200 million-$300 million of stock in the fourth quarter, dependent on the strength of our organic loan growth.

We are refining our average loan guidance range to $174 billion-$176 billion.

Average loans are expected to be up approximately 1%, led by growth in C&I, home equity, and auto.

We will also see the pace of new branch openings accelerate in Texas, having now secured 101 of the 150 additional locations we targeted to build by the end of 2029.

Turning to capital, our CET1 operating target is 10%-10.5%, and we are effectively there, with capital continuing to build through our earnings power.

The adjusted efficiency ratio was 57.1%, a strong improvement from the first quarter, and we remain confident in achieving a run rate efficiency target of 53%.