Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Annual Shareholders Meeting of Fifth Third Bancorp. I'm calling the meeting to order at 11:30 A.M. This is Tim Spence, Chairman, CEO, and President of Fifth Third Bancorp, and it is my pleasure to preside today. The agenda and regulations for conduct of this meeting are available on the annual meeting website used to access this conference. Now I would like to introduce the other members of the board of directors who are here with us in conference today- Nick Akins, Priscilla Almodovar, Evan Bayh, Jorge Benitez, Katie Blackburn, Linda Clement Holmes, Brian Daniels, Laurent Desmangles, Mitch Feiger, Gary Heminger, Derek Kerr, Eileen Mallesch, Kathy Rogers, Barbara Smith, and Mike Van de Ven.
George Fackler and [Mark Mehdi] from the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche, our independent external auditor, are also available today to answer any questions you may have. We've also included select members of Fifth Third's Executive Management team in conference with us today, including Michael Powell, Fifth Third's Corporate Secretary, who will serve as the secretary of this meeting. Moving to the business of the meeting, Mike, please provide us with a summary of how notice of this meeting was provided to all shareholders.
Mr. Spence, notice of this meeting was first mailed on March 9, 2026, to all shareholders of record as of February 24, 2026. A quorum is present.
Thanks, Mike. Peter Descovich is in conference with us from Broadridge today and is serving as the Inspector of Election. Broadridge is being assisted by members of our legal department. The polls are now open. Shareholders wishing to vote or those wishing to change their vote may do so online during the meeting using the Vote Here button on the web portal and following the instructions provided. I will let you know when the voting closes. Shareholders who have submitted their proxies or voted via telephone or internet using Broadridge's system and do not want to change their vote do not need to take any further action. We have three items to be voted on today that have been proposed by the company. Mike, please introduce those items.
The first item of business is the election of 16 Directors to serve until the 2027 annual meeting of shareholders. The nominees were approved by the company's Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and are named in the proxy statement. The next item is a proposal to ratify the appointment of Deloitte & Touche as external auditor of the company for the year 2026. The third item is an advisory vote to approve the compensation of the company's named Executive Officers as described in the proxy statement.
Shareholders who wish to nominate a director or propose a matter to be acted upon at the annual meeting must do so by providing a notice to the board secretary in accordance with the requirements of Fifth Third's regulations. The deadline for submission of such a notice for this year's annual meeting has passed. Since no nominations or proposals required to be voted on at the annual meeting were received prior to the deadline, I declare the nominations for Directors and proposals for consideration closed. Now that everyone has had an opportunity to vote, voting is also closed. We will announce the results of the votes later in the meeting.
While votes are being tabulated, I will spend a few minutes to provide a business update. At Fifth Third, we measure success by producing the best total return for long-term shareholders and by the trust we earn with customers and regulators. We do this by prioritizing stability, profitability, and growth in that order, while obsessing over how to get 1% better every day and investing meaningfully in the future. We are transparent about our performance both inside and outside the bank. We do not believe in averages. They mask details that matter. Instead, we measure ourselves against the very best in every place we compete, because discipline is what leads to an elite organization.
That discipline has delivered shareholder returns that rank among the best in our peer group over the last three, five, seven, and 10-year time periods. Looking back on 2025, I would characterize the operating environment as benign, yet defined by uncertainty. Demand was uneven. Data centers and private credit funds, two areas we have been more cautious about than others, disproportionately drove bank lending, whereas Fifth Third's traditional client segments deferred large investments as they awaited clarity on tariffs, the labor market, interest rates, and the federal government shutdown.
Put simply, we got nine or 10 productive months out of a 12-month calendar year. Against that backdrop, however, Fifth Third delivered another consistent year of strong profitability and organic growth. Our adjusted full-year return on assets, return on equity, and efficiency ratio all rank among the best in our industry. 2025 also marked a defining strategic milestone with the combination of Fifth Third and Comerica. At the time of this announcement last year, we believed this combination united two organizations with shared values and complementary strengths.
Now, after nearly three months of operating as one company, I am more confident than ever in the cultural alignment and the value creation we can achieve. As we move through integration, our focus is squarely on execution, serving clients seamlessly, retaining top talent, and realizing the strategic benefits of greater scale and enhanced capabilities. Just as importantly, we are building one shared culture grounded in integrity, accountability, and continuous improvement. That mindset of learning, adapting, and getting better every day is central to how we will create long-term value from this combination.
That same culture is reflected across Fifth Third more broadly. Our people bring energy, purpose, and pride to their work every day. They are united around our values and in finding better ways to serve customers, support one another, and strengthen communities where we live and work. Their hustle and their heart and their belief in being 1% better every day is what differentiates this franchise. In 2025, that approach was again recognized externally. Euromoney named Fifth Third the best U.S. super-regional bank.
Ethisphere once again recognized Fifth Third as one of the world's most ethical companies, an honor earned by only four banks globally and just two in the United States. These recognitions matter because they reflect not just what we achieve, but how we achieve it. As we look ahead, our priorities remain clear, stability, profitability, and growth, in that order. That discipline guides how we manage risk, allocate capital, and invest for the long term.
On behalf of all our team members at Fifth Third, thank you for your continued belief in our company. We appreciate your trust. We'll never lose sight of the fact that as our shareholders, this is your bank, and we must earn your trust every day. Mike Powell has received the interim report of the inspectors and will now report on the preliminary results of the vote from the holders of Fifth Third Common Stock and our Series A, Class B Preferred Stock, voting together as a single class.
Thank you, Tim. The inspectors have counted the preliminary votes and reported as follows. First, on the election of Directors, the 16 nominees listed in the proxy statement have each received the majority of shareholder votes cast in favor of their election. Second, the shareholders have approved the proposal to ratify the appointment of Deloitte & Touche as external auditor. Third, the shareholders have approved the adoption of the resolution approving the compensation of the company's named Executive Officers.
Preliminary voting results are subject to final tabulation and to verification by the Inspector of Elections. The Inspector of Elections will make and certify a final report of the vote. We will report the final voting results within the required timeframe, and I now declare the formal business of this meeting to be complete. We have a dedicated line to assist customers with account-related questions or issues. If you need help with your accounts, please call 1-844-258-5070. Again, that's 1-844-258-5070. We'll now introduce Matt Curoe, the company's Senior Director of Investor Relations.
Thank you, Tim. At this point, we move to Q&A. We will address questions submitted in advance of the meeting up to this point through the virtual portal. We may combine related questions to provide answers as efficiently as possible. I would also like to remind participants to please ask questions that are relevant to the meeting. If there are any questions that we are not able to address during the meeting, the investor relations department will follow up with you after the meeting. Please note our forward-looking statement disclaimer as shown in our presentation. Tim, we received no questions in advance of this meeting.
In that case, this completes today's meeting. Thank you for attending today, and I thank you for your continued support of Fifth Third. The meeting is adjourned.
That concludes our meeting today. You may now disconnect.