Fifth Third Bancorp said Monday it will increase its minimum wage to $20 per hour from $18 on July 4. Including its mid-year merit pay increases, the Cincinnati financial firm said it’ll increase compensation for more than 40% of its employees. As of Dec. 31, Fifth Third Bancorp employed 19,112 people full-time, compared to 19,872 on Dec. 31, 2020. The $20 minimum hourly wage will benefit nearly 95% of employees in retail branches and operations support functions, including customer contact centers, the bank said. Incoming CEO Tim Spence, who is currently president, said the wage increase “is simply the right thing to do” because its team members “are impacted disproportionately by rising costs of living.” He will take over on July 5 from CEO Greg Carmichael. “We are incredibly proud to be among the top quartile of our peers for employee retention according to leading research, and we believe our competitive compensation and benefits are essential to our ability to continue to attract and retain the best and brightest talent to serve and support our valued customers,” Spence said. Fifth Third Bancorp shares are down 10.4% in 2022 compared to a loss of 7.8% by the S&P 500 and drop of 5.5% by the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF .
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