DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Western Union Co. (WU) reached an agreement to offer global
money-transfer services at Fifth Third Bank Bancorp, (FITB), part
of its plan to expand through new-product offerings, news channels
of business and acquisitions.
Migrants have continued to send remittances to their home
countries amid the recession, with transfers increasing in the
first quarter. The money-transfer company said it has been tapping
to several banking channels such as cash-to-cash, account-to-cash
and account-to-account transfers.
Fifth Third, which has 1,318 branches in 12 states, has been
struggling amid extremely challenging housing markets in its
locations, which include hard-hit Michigan and Florida.
The services will be available to account holders and walk-in
customers within the next several months.
Western Union has been continuing to grow its presence globally,
and in the first quarter transactions in the person-to-person
segment rose 7%. Second-quarter results are due Tuesday.
Western Union shares closed at $18 and Fifth Third finished at
$7.01. Western Union was't trading premarket, while Fifth Third was
up 1.14% to $7.09.
-By Tess Stynes, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2481;
tess.stynes@dowjones.com