In the biggest deal ever for its stock-register business, Fifth Third Bancorp has signed a deal to provide those services to Procter & Gamble Co.

        Fifth Third will facilitate and audit the debit, credit and transfer activity of all common stock owned by 200,000 registered and 700,000 institutional shareholders, enabling Fifth Third to double the size of investors to whom it provides such services and to boost fee income.

        The contract with P&G also means that Fifth Third will pick up a company that will greatly expand its stock-register business.

        Before the P&G deal, Fifth Third provided stock transfer and register services to more than 90 companies and 850,000 individual and institutional investors nationally, including local companies such as Cinergy, Broadwing, Convergys and E.W. Scripps.

        Terms of the P&G deal were not disclosed.

        Fifth Third says it offered the wining bid for the stock-transfer business of P&G, the Cincinnati-based consumer products giant.

Regulators want lending examined

        Federal banking regulators want credit-card issuers to tighten their lending practices to consumers. Offering more plastic to individuals already struggling to make payments and accepting small payments that can result in credit card debt rising instead of falling are among issues regulators are concerned about.

        The Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Office of Thrift Supervision and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. made reference to those tactics in a recent draft offering guidance to banks on credit-card lending, according to Bankrate.com., which tracks the banking industry.

        “Recent examinations of institutions in credit-card lending have disclosed a wide variety of account management, risk management and loss-allowance practices, a number which were deemed inappropriate,” the draft read. Translation: The nation's top banking regulators want credit-card companies to be more prudent in their lending practices.

        Though the draft is just a recommendation, not a rule, industry experts say the draft is a warning from regulators for credit-card issuers to clean up their act. A final draft of the guidance is expected Aug. 16. Issuers and others wishing to comment can respond until Aug. 9 via the Web site of the Federal Financial Institutions Examinations Council.

        One concern for regulators is so-called credit line management. For instance, some companies are granting customers new or higher lines of credit first without running thorough credit evaluations. Other bankers are approving extra cards to individuals already struggling to pay bills, which consumer advocates have opposed.

        The guidance also comes as the credit-card industry could post record profits for the past year, largely fueled by making additional fee income for late payments and changing their pricing policies on cards.

NB&T parent sees 23% 2nd-quarter gain

        Double-digit revenue growth helped the parent of the National Bank and Trust Co. of Wilmington, Ohio, post a 23 percent gain in second-quarter profits.

        NB&T Financial Group Inc. earned $1.9 million, or 62 cents a share, up from $1.54 million, or 48 cents a share, during last year's second quarter.

        The banking company said quarterly net interest income rose almost 35 percent to $6 million, largely helped by a 27 percent reduction in interest expense.

        The National Bank and Trust, with assets of $680 million, operates 21 branches in several Ohio counties, including in Warren and Clermont.

        Contact Jeff McKinney at 768-8499; fax 564-6991; or e-mail jmckinney@enquirer.com.

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