Fifth Third Accelerates Southeast Expansion, Reaches Milestones

Fifth Third Bancorp FITB has reached a milestone for its Southeast expansion strategy, with the opening of its 200th financial center in Florida and its 100th in the Carolinas, strengthening its fast-growing retail presence across key high-growth markets in the region.

Jamie Leonard, chief operating officer at Fifth Third, stated, “These milestones reflect our disciplined approach to growth and our commitment to making banking easier and more personalized through innovative technology and local expertise.”

Details of FITB’s Latest Southeast Expansion

Fifth Third’s regional growth has accelerated significantly over the past year. The company now operates more than 1,100 banking centers nationwide, a number expected to expand even further following the anticipated closing of its Comerica acquisition in early 2026.

The bank’s newest locations, Champions Crossing in Davenport, FL, and Weaverville near Asheville, NC, demonstrate Fifth Third’s continued commitment to offering strong banking experiences and deepening its presence across growing Southeastern communities. 

Florida remains one of the bank’s most important markets, with Champions Crossing becoming the Bank’s 200th financial center in the state. The new location offers consumer, commercial, and wealth management services and strengthens Fifth Third’s presence across Central Florida.

The opening of the 100th financial center in the Carolinas further strengthens FITB’s reach across a fast-expanding economic corridor, as the Weaverville location near Asheville meets the rising demand for personalized financial services and supports its efforts to build long-term relationships in both metropolitan and emerging suburban areas.

FITB Bets Big on Southeast Expansion

Fifth Third’s Southeast expansion strategy, launched in 2018, has rapidly reshaped its regional presence. Since then, the company has opened 172 de novo branches, upgraded 71 financial centers, expanded into 14 new markets, and added 688 team members to its Consumer Bank. The momentum shows no signs of slowing, with more than 50 locations set to open by 2025-end.

The bank’s ambitions extend well beyond the Southeast. By 2029, Fifth Third plans to establish 150 locations across Texas. When combined with Comerica’s footprint, this expansion positions the Bank to secure top-five market share in Dallas, Houston and Austin. 

Looking ahead to 2030, more than half of Fifth Third’s retail footprint is expected to be concentrated across the Southeast, Texas and Arizona. The bank estimates its Southeast growth alone to generate $15-$20 billion in deposits over the next seven years.

This strategy is anchored in a commitment to customer-centric banking, blending modern digital capabilities with strong local expertise. Fifth Third’s redesigned financial centers are built to operate as community hubs that provide consumer banking, commercial services, wealth management and small-business support. Expansion decisions are driven by advanced analytics, including its proprietary Market Strength Index and geospatial heat-map technology, which help it identify high-opportunity locations and support long-term, sustainable growth.

FITB’s Price Performance & Zacks Rank

In the past six months, FITB shares have gained 17.3% compared with the industry’s growth of 19.9%.

Currently, FITB carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Similar Steps Taken by Other Financial Firms

In November 2025, The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.’s PNC banking subsidiary, PNC Bank, N.A. announced plans to open more than 300 new branches by 2030, increasing its total branch investment to about $2 billion. 

The new initiative extends PNC’s retail expansion to nearly 20 U.S. markets, including Nashville, Chicago, Sarasota, and Winston-Salem. The bank also reaffirmed its plan to renovate 100% of its branch network by 2029 and hire over 2,000 new employees to support growth and customer service efforts by 2030.

In September 2025, F.N.B. Corp.’s FNB main subsidiary, First National Bank, unveiled its plan to add about 30 new branches to its existing network over the next five years. These new branches will accelerate the company’s ongoing expansion in North Carolina, South Carolina and the Bank's Mid-Atlantic Region, including Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

This move builds on FNB’s successful expansion strategy in South Carolina, where it has heavily invested in Greenville and Charleston. It has already opened five branches and approximately 160 branded ATMs and downtown regional hubs that offer services in Commercial Banking, Commercial Real Estate, Small Business, Wealth Management and Mortgage.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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