On Oct. 6, it was announced that Dallas-based Comerica Bank will become part of Fifth Third in an $11 billion transaction.
The merger of the two banks under the Fifth Third banner will create one of the largest banks in the country with nearly $300 million in assets.
In Fifth Third’s earnings call Friday, CEO Tim Spence went into detail about how the deal, expected to close in early 2026, will work and how Comerica fits into Fifth Third’s strategic priorities.
“[Mergers and acquisitions] is not a strategy unto itself, but rather a means to achieve stated strategic objectives,” Spence said on the call. “The outcome must be a company that is better, not just bigger.”
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Most notably for Texans, Fifth Third plans to add 150 branches in the Lone Star State, in addition to Comerica’s extensive presence here. Comerica has 108 branches in Texas, including 51 in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Fifth Third has invested heavily into the Southeast in recent years, and now it counts nearly 350 branches across Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina.
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According to Spence, Fifth Third opened 13 branches in the third quarter of 2025 alone, with 27 more slated to open by the end of the year. It’s part of a plan to add more than 200 branches by 2028.
“As we add 150 branches to Comerica’s Texas footprint, together, we’ll have a presence in 17 of the fastest-growing large U.S. metro areas in our regions,” he said.
Fifth Third was founded in 1858 in Cincinnati, Ohio, as Bank of the Ohio Valley. It is still headquartered there today and counts 245 branches in its home state, according to the latest Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation data. It also maintains large presences in Michigan (163 branches), Illinois (161) and Indiana (96).
With the addition of the 144 Comerica branches in Michigan, where Comerica was founded, Fifth Third will have what Spence called “a fortress position in the Midwest,” fitting into regional strategies he outlined.
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Apart from its Southern and Midwestern strategies, Fifth Third also plans to pursue a “business-focused strategy” in California. Comerica has $15 billion in deposits and 85 branches in the state, while Fifth Third has none, and Spence pointed out that many early customers of the now-defunct Silicon Valley Bank came from a Comerica predecessor, providing credibility and opportunity.
Comerica, in general, does business banking that augments Fifth Third’s existing capabilities. Spence highlighted Comerica’s strength in environmental services and tech and life sciences, among others.
He also said Fifth Third will help the acquired bank accelerate the growth of its “crown jewel” middle market franchise, which serves business too big for small business loans but too small for large corporate banking.
Comerica also offers automotive dealer services that Fifth Third doesn’t after exiting the business five years ago, according to Spence.
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“We have always liked it,” he said. “We just didn’t have the scale to be able to support the platform.”
Now, it will make use of Comerica’s dealer services platform, while all other customers and businesses move to Fifth Third platforms.
Spence noted that Fifth Third will own Comerica’s bank identification numbers, which are the first few numbers on a payment card, and be able to continue issuing out of them and maintain existing card numbers.
For other transition-related nuances, such as updating personal information and bank account passwords, Spence said Fifth Third is focused on making sure it gets done right the first time and being able to act quickly after to resolve hiccups.
“There is an incredible amount of detail work that has to get done, just on the mapping and the communication, then the pre-conversion actions that you can take to ensure that the conversions themselves go smoothly,” he said, “coupled then with having the right level of staffing on hand, whether it’s in the branches, in the call centers or otherwise.”
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Behind the scenes, Fifth Third will also have to deal with becoming a Category 3 bank, as the addition of Comerica’s assets puts it past the $250 million threshold for additional regulatory requirements. CFO Bryan Preston noted that Fifth Third, which was close to the threshold without Comerica, has been preparing for that designation since last year.
Overall, Spence expressed liberal optimism about the merger, echoing sentiment Comerica CEO Curt Farmer shared with The Dallas Morning News in the wake of the announcement. Spence highlighted the strength of Comerica talent leading the transition and shared his excitement about “unlocking” its bankers with a larger funding base.
“I think the feedback from employees and communities has been really positive on both sides of Fifth Third and Comerica,” Spence said. “When the No. 1 question that we’re getting is what the name of the Detroit Tigers’ stadium is going to be at the end of all this, it’s a pretty good sign about what about what we’re dealing with.”
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