Regional Banks Consolidate Tech and Deposits as Fifth Third Buys Comerica

Fifth Third Bank will be the ninth-largest bank in the United States after it acquires Comerica.

The $10.9 billion merger between the lender and the Texas-based regional bank will create an entity with a combined $288 billion in assets, according to a Monday (Oct. 6) press release. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.

The merger will also help Fifth Third with its expansion plans, per the release. It anticipates that more than half its branches will be based in the Southeast, Texas, Arizona and California by 2030.

“This combination marks a pivotal moment for Fifth Third as we accelerate our strategy to build density in high-growth markets and deepen our commercial capabilities,” Fifth Third Chairman, CEO and President Tim Spence said in the release. “Comerica’s strong middle-market franchise and complementary footprint make this a natural fit.”

Comerica CEO Curt Farmer said in the release that Fifth Third is an expert in retail, payments and digital, which will allow Comerica “to build on our leading commercial franchise and further serve our customers with enhanced capabilities across more markets, while staying true to our core values.”

The deal follows other mergers this year in the regional banking space as U.S. regulators relax their stance on bank combinations. For example, PNC Bank announced last month its acquisition of Colorado-based lender FirstBank for $4.1 billion.

In May, Nebraska-based lender FNBO said it was preparing to acquire Missouri’s Country Club Bank. The two privately held banks finalized their merger last week.

Meanwhile, in an interview with PYMNTS published Monday (Oct. 6), Robert Norman, senior vice president of cash logistics strategy at Fifth Third, discussed the continued importance of cash in the digital economy.

He said technology can improve the last mile of cash, with tools like smart safes letting retailers digitize the value of cash at the point of deposit.

“We think that that piece of it is 100% when technology makes this bill or these notes a digital payment now,” Norman said. “So now we’ve enabled that deposit to happen through more of the digital world of moving that data, while the physical piece sits there still. And then that really should be the last time that that retailer thinks about that note because really that’s now the bank’s money sitting in a safe that’s inside of their location.”