| Fifth Third Bancorp Reports 2007 Earnings of $2.03 Per Diluted Share
Fifth Third Bancorp Reports 2007 Earnings of $2.03 Per Diluted Share Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) today reported 2007 earnings of $1.1 billion, or $2.03 per diluted share, compared with $1.2 billion, or $2.13 per diluted share in 2006. Reported fourth quarter 2007 earnings were $38 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, compared with $325 million, or $0.61 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2007 and $66 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, for the same period in 2006. Reported results included a non-cash estimated charge of $155 million, both pre-tax and after-tax, or $0.29 per share, to lower the current cash surrender value of one of our Bank-Owned Life Insurance ("BOLI") policies. Additionally, quarterly results included a non- cash charge of $94 million pre-tax, or $0.12 per share after-tax, related to Visa members' indemnification of estimated future litigation settlements, as well as $8 million pre-tax, or $0.01 per share after-tax, in acquisition- related costs primarily associated with the acquisition of R-G Crown, which closed in early November.
Cards: Opportunities Abound In Crowded Payments Field
In the course of a decade, card-based payments have doubled in volume to account for 28 percent of all consumer payments. It's nearly half of the payments pie when excluding the amount spent on auto loans, mortgages and other debt vehicles unsuitable for cards. Credit or debit card use at the point of sale represents 56 percent of all purchases, interchange now accounts for 19 percent of issuers' revenues, and the number of card-accepting merchants now tops 6.1 million. It's obvious that consumers are comfortable swiping cards for groceries, utility bills, morning coffee and hamburgers. But as Celent notes in a new report on payment trends, cards are not close to conquering cash and checks: cards' growth market is $4.5 trillion. Much of that growth is going to be fueled by evolving trends in consumer behavior, added merchant choices and technology, as bank issuers seek innovative ways of building and retaining card customers whose average cost of acquisition is between $50 and $300.
Auto Industry 1991-2000
Initially, it had been proposed to start the auction on November 12, and applications were supposed to be accepted only in Nizhny Novgorod region and Saransk. In fact, GAZ tried to sell its shares to loyal management of allied industries. However, GKI managed to uphold the sale of GAZ shares at an All-Russian auction. Fifty percent of the charter capital was put up for sale instead of 30% as the plant's administration had proposed. Then, as a result of a reappraisal of GAZ's property (mainly social and cultural amenities), the block of shares increased to 50.7%.
The auction was subsequently declared invalid. The State Committee set up after governor Boris Nemtsov petitioned the government with a letter about irregularities during the auction sent documents to the Russian prosecutor's office.
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