SOURCE: Fifth Third Bancorp
DESCRIPTION:
Fifth Third Bank is focused on delivering best-in-class financial products and services and providing access to those services whenever and wherever consumers want them. In the Responsible Banking section of the Bank’s 2020 Environmental, Social and Governance Report, Fifth Third speaks to its responsibility for ensuring its products and services are accessible to all consumers, in all markets, and that the right types of responsible products and services are offered.
From pages 21-22 of the report:
HONEST BUSINESS PRACTICES
We strive to act in our customers’ best interest and fair and honest business practices are essential to keeping our customers at the center of everything we do. Unethical business practices are strictly prohibited, and further, are not consistent with our Core Values.
We are fully committed to maintaining non-abusive and anti-predatory lending practices. Credit decisions are made without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identification or assignment, military status, disability, receipt of public assistance, familial status or a consumer’s exercise of credit protection rights.
Fifth Third’s Community Reinvestment Act and Responsible Banking Committee is responsible for guiding enterprise-wide CRA and responsible conduct strategies and policies. The Committee facilitates high-level direction to consumer and commercial lines of business consistent with such strategies and policies. The Committee also seeks to promote a corporate culture that supports Fifth Third’s commitment to both the letter and spirit of CRA and other laws and regulations that prohibit behavior and practices that could be deemed unethical, discriminatory, or predatory in nature, as well as unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices known as UDAAP.
The CRA and Responsible Banking Committee is led by the consumer and business practices senior compliance director and the chief enterprise responsibility officer of Fifth Third Bank. Membership is comprised of leadership from the lines of business, Legal, Risk, and Fair Lending department leadership, as well as community development and sustainability group representatives. The Committee’s responsibility is delegated from the Board of Directors who oversees the committee actions through the Enterprise Risk Management Committee.
Further, we assert that Fair Lending and Responsible Banking compliance is the responsibility of all employees, a message reiterated in the Company’s Code of Business Conduct & Ethics, which all employees are required to sign and acknowledge on an annual basis. In 2020, over 99% of employees made this acknowledgement, a requirement that is regularly tested and verified.
In addition, the Bank requires employees and contractors to complete compliance training on an annual basis, including: complaint management, financial crimes compliance training, elder financial abuse, preventing fraud and Doing the Right Thing, which comprises eight modules. One module is Responsible Banking and Fair Lending Basics, which covers Fifth Third’s commitment to making financial products and services available to prospective and existing customers on a fair and responsible basis. These courses are required no matter what an employee’s role is at the Bank. In 2020, 99.7% of all required compliance training modules were completed by employees.
To read the remainder of the Responsible Banking section or Fifth Third’s full 2020 Environmental. Social Governance Report, visit 53.com.
KEYWORDS: NASDAQ:FITB, Fifth Third Bank, ESG, responsible banking
