Press release
From the Fifth Third Bank 2020 ESG Report: Corporate Governance
--News Direct--One of our most valuable assets at Fifth Third is our reputation for integrity. We are judged by our conduct, and we must act in a manner that
About this update from Fifth Third Bancorp
[{"type":"text","content":"--News Direct--One of our most valuable assets at Fifth Third is our reputation for integrity. We are judged by our conduct, and we must act in a manner that merits public trust and confidence.We believe that a strong corporate governance program is the foundation for a sustainable and well-governed company. Accordingly, we continuously evaluate our structures, processes and controls to ensure they support and promote accountability, effectiveness, transparency and ethical behavior.BOARD OF DIRECTORSOur Board of Directors provides oversight of, and guidance to, our executive management team in the development of corporate strategy, risk management, corporate culture and other important aspects of our business, including ESG topics. In order to provide such oversight and guidance, we believe it is important that the Board include a substantial majority of independent directors, strong independent committee chairs and a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences calibrated to the evolving needs of our business and stakeholders. Our directors’ average tenure is 6.3 years.All of our directors are independent under the standards developed by Nasdaq and included in our Corporate Governance Guidelines, except for our CEO and one director who was formerly employed by Fifth Third and served as CEO of MB Financial, Inc. We have a lead independent director who is elected annually by the independent directors and facilitates independent Board oversight of management.At our 2021 annual meeting, our shareholders elected 15 directors, including five female directors, two Black directors and one Latino director. Forty percent of our Board is diverse in terms of ethnicity or gender, including our lead independent director and Audit Committee chair who are each women, and our Technology Committee chair who is Latino.Our 2021 Proxy Statement includes information about the Board and its committees and their respective responsibilities. It also includes a Board Skills and Attributes Matrix that sets forth the diverse skills and attributes that each director contributes to the Board’s oversight of the Company. Eleven of our directors have experience in ESG matters, including all the members of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.Though evaluations occur continuously, our directors undergo a thorough annual evaluation process to help e...