Tuesday, May 04, 1999
Fifth Third divvies up the pie
Stock gift delights, motivates workers
BY JEFF McKINNEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
If Pat Thompson needed any incentives to keep working at Fifth Third Bank, she got 60 of them Monday.
Fifth Third announced its first-ever stock grant program for employees with at least three years of service, giving from 10 to 60 shares of the bank's stock to Ms. Thompson and 2,999 of her co-workers.
Ms. Thompson, who works in credit-card processing, will own the stock — worth $4,335 at Monday's $72.25 closing price — if she stays with the bank two more years.
“I can't believe they're being this generous,” said Ms. Thompson, 45. “I'm going to save mine for retirement or a rainy day.”
If Fifth Third's stock continues to perform as it has in the past decade, the $6.7 million in stock it granted to workers could increase in value to as much as $62 million in the next 10 years.
George A. Schaefer Jr., Fifth Third's president and chief executive officer, said the stock gift “is being made to recognize hard work, hustle, teamwork, and aggressive selling and loyalty.”
Loyalty is not new to the bank; 6,500 employees now own 10 percent of its stock. The grants announced Monday will make 77 percent of the bank's 8,500 employees shareholders.
The number of shares granted to both full- and part-time workers was based on years of service and job classifications. Fifth Third said Monday's award was a one-time gift, but something the bank will review periodically.
Firstar and Provident banks have similar programs.
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