Fifth Third Bancorp said third-quarter 2026 net income available to common shareholders rose to $828 million from $763 million in the second quarter and $608 million a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share increased to $0.90 from $0.83 in the prior quarter, though it was down from $0.91 in the year-ago period.
Net interest income climbed to $2.28 billion from $2.22 billion in the second quarter and $1.53 billion in the third quarter of 2025. The bank said the sequential increase reflected higher market rates, fixed-rate asset repricing, active investment portfolio management and loan growth. Net interest margin was 3.34%, down 2 basis points from the second quarter but up 21 basis points from a year ago.
Noninterest income fell to $1.01 billion from $1.06 billion in the second quarter, but was up from $781 million a year earlier. Excluding certain items, noninterest income was $1.05 billion, up 1% sequentially and 33% year over year. Wealth and asset management revenue rose to $259 million from $256 million, commercial payments revenue held at $256 million, and commercial banking revenue increased to $128 million from $125 million. Capital markets fees slipped to $147 million from $154 million, while mortgage banking revenue increased to $47 million from $39 million.
Noninterest expense declined to $2.05 billion from $2.11 billion in the second quarter, though it was well above $1.27 billion in the year-ago quarter. Compensation and benefits expense fell to $982 million from $1.13 billion, while technology and communications expense rose to $300 million from $250 million. Excluding certain items, noninterest expense was $1.81 billion, down from $1.89 billion in the prior quarter.
Provision for credit losses declined to $122 million from $129 million in the second quarter and $197 million a year ago. Net charge-offs were 31 basis points, up slightly from 30 basis points in the second quarter and well below 1.09% in the year-ago quarter. Nonperforming assets were 0.64% of total assets, up from 0.60% in the prior quarter and down from 0.65% a year earlier.
Average portfolio loans and leases increased to $179.24 billion from $177.57 billion in the second quarter and $123.33 billion a year earlier. Commercial loans and leases rose to $125.56 billion from $124.08 billion, led by a $1.02 billion increase in commercial and industrial loans to $85.98 billion and a $567 million increase in commercial mortgage loans to $27.26 billion. Consumer loans were essentially flat at $53.68 billion, with home equity loans up to $7.02 billion from $6.83 billion.
Average deposits increased to $238.34 billion from $231.51 billion in the second quarter and $164.75 billion a year earlier. Core deposits rose 3% sequentially to $235.64 billion. Demand deposits were $64.23 billion, interest checking climbed to $75.03 billion from $70.51 billion, and money market balances increased to $66.25 billion from $63.20 billion. The loan-to-core deposit ratio improved to 76% from 77% in the second quarter.
Average wholesale funding fell to $23.25 billion from $25.91 billion in the second quarter, with long-term debt dropping to $17.51 billion from $18.82 billion and FHLB advances declining to $2.37 billion from $3.44 billion.
Return on average assets was 1.14%, up from 1.08% in the second quarter. Return on average tangible common equity rose to 16.6% from 15.6%, and the efficiency ratio improved to 62.4% from 64.3%. CET1 capital was 10.0%, up from 9.9% in the second quarter. The market has reacted to these announcements by moving the company's shares 0.04% to a price of $50.37. Check out the company's full 8-K submission here.
