News Release

More than 170,000 Students to Get Financial Education from Dave Ramsey;
Fifth Third's Continued Delivery of Ramsey Curriculum to Educate One Million Teens

10/01/2015

Cincinnati– Fifth Third Bank today announced its sponsorship of 170,000 students for financial education beginning with the fall semester of the new 2015-2016 school year. The Bank is underwriting Dave Ramsey's Foundations in Personal Finance course in 1,637 high schools within the Bank's footprint.

Fifth Third has helped deliver Foundations in Personal Finance in high schools for the past six years. Since 2010, the Bank has helped educate more than 800,000 students on its way to educating a record one million students by the spring of 2017.

"Dave Ramsey's Foundations in Personal Finance curriculum is wonderful," said Gary Brown, principal of Waldron Junior-Senior High School in Waldron, Indiana. It is full of great, informative videos that enhance classroom learning activities. The programs brings focus topics down to a level in which students can understand."

Fifth Third Bank believes that lives are improved when people have the knowledge and tools to make wise financial decisions. Fifth Third's L.I.F.E. (Lives Improved through Financial Empowerment®) programs are the way the Company lives out its commitment to deliver financial education to people at all ages and stages of life.

"Financial education in high school is vitally important," said Fifth Third Vice President Laura Passerallo, director of the Foundations program at Fifth Third and regional marketing manager. "It's a stage of life that requires financial planning as these students prepare for more independent lives in college and first careers. Dave Ramsey's trusted and successful curriculum is a key component of our L.I.F.E. programming and one which we know has had immeasurable positive impact on these students' lives."

"We are grateful for Fifth Third Bank's sponsorship and commitment to educating today's high school students about personal finance," said Rachel Cruze, financial expert and host of Foundations in Personal Finance. "They have shown a real dedication to equipping young adults with the skills they need to succeed financially.

Foundations in Personal Finance is a comprehensive, flexible and turnkey personal finance curriculum. It is designed to be taught by the teacher in school, aided by video lessons from Dave Ramsey, Rachel Cruze and their team of experts. The curriculum has been recently updated and features a blended learning site with calculators, tools and resources, a new 504-question TestGen® computerized test bank, a brand new print and digital teachers' guide and four new chapters.

The program also includes 100+ classroom activities focused on providing 21st century personal finance knowledge and skills in a student-centered, competency-based approach to learning. Foundations in Personal Finance is presented in 12 chapters, divided into four units: Saving and Budgeting; Credit and Debt; Financial Planning and Insurance; and Income, Taxes and Giving.

More about Fifth Third's L.I.F.E. programs is available at www.53.com/life.

Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Company has $142 billion in assets and operates 1,299 full-service Banking Centers, including 101 Bank Mart® locations, most open seven days a week, inside select grocery stores and 2,630 ATMs in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Georgia and North Carolina. Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending, and Investment Advisors. Fifth Third also has a 22.8 percent interest in Vantiv Holding, LLC. Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of June 30, 2015, had $304 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $27 billion for individuals, corporations and not-for-profit organizations. Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Fifth Third's common stock is traded on the Nasdaq® Global Select Market under the symbol "FITB." Fifth Third Bank was established in 1858.