Fifth Third Mortgage Company Refinances More Freddie Mac Loans

Cincinnati — Eight weeks after Fifth Third Mortgage Company, a subsidiary of Fifth Third Bank, announced its intention to participate in the government’s Homeowner Affordability and Stability Program (HASP), customers have been refinancing at a record pace. Since the program began, the Mortgage Company has worked with more than 11,000 homeowners to refinance more than $1.95 billion in loans.

"Fifth Third Mortgage remains committed to helping our mortgage borrowers with refinance options," said Bob Lewis, president of Fifth Third Mortgage Company. "The program has proved to be great in helping customers rebuild consumer confidence."

The Mortgage Company has already refinanced more than $21 million Freddie Mac-owned or guaranteed mortgages through the Freddie Mac Relief Refinance(SM) Mortgage, making it one of the nation’s most efficient Relief Refinance operations in the country. Freddie Mac’s Relief Refinance Mortgage, which launched April 1, is a component of the Obama Administration’s Making Home Affordable plan to refinance or modify as many as nine million mortgages.

"We applaud Fifth Third for its early success at using the national Making Home Affordable plan to help homeowners and stabilize housing markets," said Donald J. Bisenius, senior vice president of single family credit guarantee at Freddie Mac. "Their achievement underscores Fifth Third Bank’s and Freddie Mac’s mutual commitment to help more families preserve the promise of homeownership in this challenging market."

The government’s Making Home Affordable Refinance plan has made refinancing easier for many homeowners. Some benefits include:

• Refinance up to 105 percent loan-to-value ratio. For instance, if a home is worth $100,000 (using an automated valuation model), under this program, a homeowner may be able to refinance their mortgage up to $105,000.
• No appraisal required on most single-family homes
• No minimum credit score
• No income or asset verification required

The Mortgage Company is committed to this effort and is taking steps to support this initiative and help eligible borrowers participate in the new programs. Since January 2007, Fifth Third Bank has been reaching out to its customers – including mortgage customers – to discuss finances. The Bank has several programs including "You Have Options," and the early intervention program, designed to educate customers who could have difficulty making mortgage and other asset payments. The Bank also introduced Dream Guard – a disciplined approach to helping customers make it through today’s financial uncertainty.

For more information about refinancing, Fifth Third Mortgage customers can visit www.53.com, call (866) 849-0588 or visit a local Fifth Third Bank Financial Center.

Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation’s residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and more than five million renters.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Company has $119 billion in assets, operates 16 affiliates with 1,307 full-service Banking Centers, including 94 Bank Mart(R) locations open seven days a week inside select grocery stores and 2,355 ATMs in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Georgia and North Carolina. Fifth Third operates five main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending, Investment Advisors and Fifth Third Processing Solutions. Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of March 31, 2009, has $166 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $23 billion for individuals, corporations and not-for-profit organizations. Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Fifth Third’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ(R) National Global Select Market under the symbol "FITB." Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.