Fifth Third Bank’s quarterly profit will increase on the increase in fee income

(Reuters) – Fifth Third Bancorp on Tuesday reported a rise in fourth-quarter profit, driven by a recovery in the industry and higher wealth and asset management fees.

The lender’s shares rose 1.5% in premarket trading. By 2024, they would have jumped 22.6 percent.

Banks have also benefited from a renaissance in talks, improving economic confidence and fostering greater political certainty. Expectations of further rate cuts and business-friendly policies by President Donald Trump have fueled optimism for more investment banking stimulus.

Fifth Third Bancorp’s capital markets fees rose 16 percent to $123 million from last year, while its wealth and asset management revenue rose 11 percent to $163 million.

The lender’s assets under management rose 17% to $69 billion.

These developments will benefit from a resurgence in investment banking activity, reflecting trends seen by larger rivals.

In the fifth quarter, net interest income (NII), the difference between what banks pay customers on deposits and what they earn on loans, rose 1.5 percent to $1.44 billion.

In the fifth quarter of Bituah Leumi’s forecast for the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter, the bank expects it to grow between 5% and 6% in 2025.

However, the Cincinnati, Ohio-based bank’s provision for loan losses rose to $179 million in the quarter from $55 million a year ago.

As high interest rates worried borrowers defaulting on their loans, banks set aside large reserves to cover possible losses due to bad loans.

Net income attributable to common shareholders rose to $582 million, or 85 cents per share, in the three months ended Dec. 31, from $492 million, or 72 cents per share, a year earlier.

(Reporting by Prakar Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)