The bank sector was shook up today, after Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) acquired peer Comerica Inc (NYSE:CMA) for $10.9 billion in an all-cash deal. The agreement will give Fifth Third $288 billion in total assets and makes the Cincinnati-based bank the ninth largest in the country. The deal is expected to close by the first quarter of 2026.
FITB is up 0.3% to trade at $44.53 at last check, while CMA is 16% higher to trade at $81.85. The broader financial exchange-traded fund Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) is 0.2% higher at last look, while the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) is up 2.3%.
Fifth Third stock initially traded as high as $45.33 out of the gate this morning, but has since cooled off. The shares are comfortably above both their year-to-date and year-over-year breakeven levels, but have run into resistance at $46 in recent months.
FITB's usually quiet options pits are springing to life today. At last glance, 6,637 calls have changed hands, volume that's 18 times the average intraday amount and more than six times the number of puts traded. The January 16, 2026 46-strike call is the most popular by far, with new positions bought to open.
Now looks like a great time to weigh in with options. The equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 31% sits in the 14th percentile of annual readings, indicating options traders are pricing in low volatility expectations. Plus, the stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) of 72 out of 100 suggests it tended to outperform volatility expectations over the past year.
