FIFTH THIRD BANK OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO RECEIVES APPROVAL FOR PURCHASE OF FIRST NATIONWIDE'S OHIO BRANCHES

CINCINNATI, Jan. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Fifth Third Bank of Northeastern Ohio, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, announced today that it has received regulatory approval from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland for its purchase of the deposits and offices of First Nationwide Bank in Ohio. First Nationwide has $1.4 billion in deposits and 28 offices throughout Lake, Cuyahoga, Medina and Lorain counties. The acquisition is expected to be completed in mid-January and will be immediately accretive to earnings.

The offices and approximately 207,000 accounts will be merged with Fifth Third Bank of Northeastern Ohio's full service Banking Center network. As a result of this acquisition, Fifth Third Bank of Northeastern Ohio will have $2.9 billion in assets, $2.2 billion in deposits and 61 Banking Centers, including 17 seven-day-a-week Bank Mart(R) locations in Finast grocery stores.

"We are extremely pleased with the increased presence provided by this merger," said George A. Schaefer, Jr., President and CEO of Fifth Third Bancorp. "We began our Cleveland operation in 1988 as a loan production office, and our growth clearly demonstrates our commitment to providing the residents of Northeastern Ohio increased access to our complete array of retail, commercial, trust, investment and brokerage products and services, as well as our proprietary Jeanie(R) Automated Teller network."

Fifth Third Bank of Northeastern Ohio President and CEO Charles J. Scheidt, Jr. agrees. "Our expanded network gives us an excellent opportunity to share our full-service relationship banking approach with First Nationwide customers. And, with our 1995 acquisition of Falls Financial, we are now offering greater access to Banking Centers, seven- day-a-week Bank Mart locations, Jeanie Automated Teller Machines and Telephone Banking."

Fifth Third Bancorp (Nasdaq: FITB) recently added $391 million in deposits and 19 branches from Bank One Cincinnati and PNC Bank, Ohio. The Bancorp's proposed acquisition of NBD (Ohio), which will add 25 offices and $542 million in deposits, is expected to be completed in February, while the pending acquisition of Kentucky Enterprise Bancorp, a $280 million thrift located in Northern Kentucky, is slated for completion in March.

Founded in 1858, Fifth Third Bancorp is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Bancorp has 11 affiliate banks, $17.2 billion in assets and 384 full-service Banking Centers, including 89 Bank Mart locations open seven days a week inside select grocery stores and 622 Jeanie ATMs in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Naples, Florida. Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Retail, Commercial, Trust & Investment Services and Midwest Payment Systems, the Bank's data processing subsidiary. Bancorp investor information can be accessed on the Internet at www.fifththird.com. The company's common stock trades on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol: FITB.

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/CONTACT: Roberta R. Jennings of Fifth Third Bancorp, 513-579-4153/

(FITB)

CO: Fifth Third Bancorp; Fifth Third Bank of Northeastern Ohio; First

Nationwide Bank in Ohio ST: Ohio IN: FIN SU: TNM

KR-BG -- CLW005 -- 4299 01/10/96 12:05 EST