Fifth Third Bank Encourages Small Business Owners to Apply for Hardship Relief

Fifth Third Bank, National Association, today provided additional detail on immediate steps it is taking to help customers impacted by the pandemic, augmenting its prior announcement last week to include new small business customer-centric provisions.

“We understand that many of our small businesses are struggling right now to meet immediate needs,” said Greg D. Carmichael, chairman, president and CEO of Fifth Third Bancorp. “We are proactively taking steps to help lessen the financial strain on our small business owners by providing financial expertise and encouraging them to contact our team or the Small Business Administration. We will navigate this together, help them get access to capital and work to rebuild our economy and local communities.”

The Bank is offering the following programs for our business customers facing financial hardship related to COVID-19. To participate in the programs, customers will need to contact Fifth Third.

• Small Business Payment Deferral Program: We are offering a payment deferral program for up to 90 days, no late fees and a range of loan modification options. We are waiving the note processing fee for new Fifth Third Fast Capital loans for six months.
• Fee Waiver Program: We will refund select fees for 90 days for Business Banking deposit accounts and services.

On March 17, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced efforts to provide a faster, easier qualification process for states seeking SBA Disaster Assistance for small businesses impacted by COVID-19. The SBA is working closely with governors to make up to $2 million in targeted, low-interest disaster recovery loans available to any small business enterprise that has been severely impacted by the situation. This direct lending program is in the form of low interest rate loans with flexible repayment terms, the eligibility for which will be determined by the SBA on a case-by-case basis.

Additional highlights include:

• Loans up to $2,000,000.
• 3.75% fixed interest rate on loans to for-profit companies.
• 2.75% fixed interest rate on loans to non-profits.
• Up to 30-year term and amortization (determined on case-by-case basis).

Contact:

• For more information on SBA's assistance to small businesses, visit www.SBA.gov/coronavirus.
• If your state is on the approved list, apply today at the sba.org website https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/Account/Login. You’ll enter your company information and describe the impact of the pandemic on your business.
• If your state is not showing as approved yet, continue to check this list often, https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/Declarations/Index.
• Additionally, the SBA continues to assist small businesses with counseling and navigating their own preparedness plans.

Fifth Third recommends that customers continue to leverage all of the digital banking tools and resources for self-service banking and account access through mobile, online and voice banking services, as well as the Bank’s network of approximately 53,000 fee-free ATMs* across the United States.