Fifth Third Names President Greg Carmichael as CEO -- Update

By Angela Chen 

Fifth Third Bancorp named Chief Operating Officer Greg Carmichael as chief executive effective Nov. 1, succeeding Kevin Kabat who plans to retire.

Mr. Kabat, who has served as chief executive since April 2007 and helped the Ohio regional bank navigate the financial crisis, spent 33 years at the company and a predecessor. He will remain executive vice chairman until his retirement next April.

Mr. Carmichael, who was also elected to the board, joined Fifth Third in 2003 in the information technology division and then became chief operating officer in 2006. By 2009, his responsibilities expanded to include leading the retail bank, business banking and all affiliate banks. He was named president in 2012.

He previously served as chief information officer at Emerson Electric Co. and in leadership roles in information technology at General Electric Co. for more than a decade.

As of March 31, the Cincinnati-based regional lender had $140 billion in assets and operated 15 affiliates with 1,303 full-service banking centers. Like other lenders, Fifth Third has faced pressure on its mortgage business as prolonged low interest rates have limited interest income and prompted cost-cutting.

The board also approved an increase in Mr. Carmichael's base salary, effective immediately. The new base will be $800,000. In addition, the board increased his annual incentive award for this year to $1.2 million and his target long-term equity incentive award for 2015 to $3.5 million.

Mr. Carmichael's salary in 2014 was $709,203, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Kabat's salary was about $1 million.

In June, Fifth Third said it plans to consolidate or sell about 100 of its branches and about 30 other properties, a move that comes as mobile and electronic banking grow in popularity.

Since the financial crisis, U.S. banks have been ramping up mobile and online services and moving away from physical locations to avoid overlap, and branch numbers have been on a steady decline as a result.

Shares of Fifth Third, inactive premarket, have increased about 2% this year through Tuesday's close.

Write to Angela Chen at [e-mail]

Access Investor Kit for Emerson Electric Co.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US2910111044

Access Investor Kit for Fifth Third Bancorp

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US3167731005

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires