Chair & Lead Independent Director
Joint Letter to our Shareholders
To our Fellow
Shareholders:
In 2021, it was once again our pleasure and privilege to continue to lead our Board of Directors, to guide our Company, and to serve our
shareholders. We are pleased to invite you to attend our Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which will be held virtually on Tuesday, April 12, 2022.
At each Annual
Meeting, we have the opportunity to reflect on how our Board has served you, our shareholders, over the past year. Despite the challenges of the operating environment, weve maintained a steadfast and resolute commitment to delivering value to
all of our stakeholders. Several years ago, we committed to deliver strong and sustainable results through the cycle, and our 2021 results delivered on that commitment. We believe our risk discipline and governance have provided a foundation on
which we can build continued success. Our strong and stable position is bolstered by a focus on peer-leading environmental, social and governance, or ESG, practices; a pledge to community-focused initiatives; and a commitment to robust governance
policies and practices. Combined, these approaches bring value to our shareholders and fulfill our purpose and vision. We have a legacy of helping others and being a source of value and trust for our customers, communities, employees and
shareholdersand we will never stop doing whats right for those we serve.
In 2021, Fifth Third delivered record financial results, including record net
income driven by record revenue combined with continued expense discipline. In addition, we produced a historical high adjusted return on tangible common equity (ROTCE) excluding unrealized gains. From the initial February 2020 pandemic
sell-off through year-end 2021, our stock price reflected these record results, outperforming our peers, and the KBW Nasdaq Bank Index (BKX) and the S&P 500.
Our strong financial results are coupled with ESG excellence. We continue to receive high ratings relative to peers from independent, third-party ESG ratings agencies.
In 2021, we joined the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) and the Ceres Company Network, signaling our commitment to achieving robust sustainability goals as the economy continues to move toward a lower carbon future. As
part of our $8 billion, five-year sustainable finance goal, we extended an additional $1.9 billion in lending and financing to renewable energy projects in 2021. We also issued an inaugural Green Bond, aligning our financing with our investment and
lending priorities to provide our customers with liquidity in their transition to a sustainable future. Fifth Third has also developed a Climate Risk Program, and we will soon publish our second Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures
(TCFD) report. Weve committed to being an ESG leader in our industry, and we are more confident than ever that the execution of our ESG strategies will continue to produce sustainable value to our shareholders.
We also have remained focused on the communities we serve. We successfully concluded our five-year Community Commitment at the end of 2020, delivering $41.6 billion in
lending and investments, a total 30% higher than our targeted commitment. Following the success of our Community Commitment, weve committed $2.8 billion over three years to our Accelerating Racial Equity, Equality, and Inclusion initiative. In
2021, as part of that initiative, we embarked upon our Empowering Black Futures neighborhood program. Through this innovative program, we will invest up to $180 million in nine local neighborhoods across our markets with a focus on creating more
affordable housing, helping small businesses grow, addressing gaps in financial access and employment, and making infrastructure improvements.
Underpinning our
success in each of these areas are strong underlying governance practices that focus on the needs and expectations of our business, our industry and our shareholders. Last year, our shareholders approved managements proposals to remove
supermajority shareholder approval requirements for mergers and amendments to our Articles of Incorporation, thereby further empowering our shareholders. In addition, our Board approved changes to our Corporate Governance Guidelines, reducing the
number of public company boards on which our directors may serve in order to better align with shareholder expectations. In response to direct feedback during engagement sessions with many of our largest shareholders, our Board approved the
inclusion of an ESG modifier as part of our annual incentive compensation program beginning in 2022. Our Board has also remained committed to ensuring its membership represents the diversity of our key constituencies and has deepened its resolve to
recruiting diverse directors.
On behalf of all the members of our Board of Directors, thank you for your continued support and investment in Fifth Third. We invite
you to read our Annual Report for more details on our financial highlights and performance in 2021, and we encourage you to review this Proxy Statement carefully and vote your shares according to the instructions provided. We look forward to
continuing to deliver on our commitments as a leading institution that is a Fifth Third Better.
Faithfully,
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Greg D. Carmichael Chair and
Chief Executive Officer |
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Marsha C. Williams Lead Independent Director |