By Jeff McKinney
Enquirer staff writer

Fifth Third Bank said Thursday that it plans to build a regional headquarters in Clermont County, four replacement branches and one new branch locally this year to pick up more customers.

Fifth Third said the moves were unrelated to Cleveland-based National City Corp.'s plans to add up to 15 branches in the region by 2007 as part of its purchase of Cincinnati-based Provident Financial Group Inc.

Fifth Third will remain the largest bank in the market, based on about $15 billion in deposits and 138 local branches. National City will pick up about $9.9 billion in deposits in the market and 65 branches, mainly in Greater Cincinnati, from Provident.

Fifth Third has been aggressively expanding its branch network since 2002 and will invest at least $14 million in its latest expansion for Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky.

It plans to begin work in August on an 8,000-square-foot, two-story regional branch office at Ohio 28 and Interstate 275 in Milford that will house the staff overseeing its 10 branches on the northeast side of Cincinnati.

The $4 million office, about twice the size of a typical branch, will replace an existing branch in Milford on Cinema Drive. The site is expected to open early next year.

William J. Moran, senior vice president of corporate facilities at Fifth Third, also said the bank will invest about $2 million each to replace offices in Eastgate, on the west side of Hamilton and on the west side of Oxford.

He said the replacement Oxford branch will open Monday, and a new branch will open in downtown Oxford in August.

Fifth Third also plans to build an office in Cold Spring to replace its existing Highland Heights branch.

The remaining updated offices are expected to open later this year.

Fifth Third Bancorp, with assets of $94 billion and 994 branches, mainly in the Midwest, has added 56 branches in cities including Chicago, Detroit and Indianapolis this year and says it will add up to 60 more by year's end. It plans to add at least eight more branches in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky market by late 2005.

E-mail jmckinney@enquirer.com