Fifth Third Bancorp's asset-quality trends have improved. We are revising our outlook on Fifth Third to positive from stable and affirming the ratings at 'BBB'. We expect Fifth Third to record higher-than-normal credit costs through 2011 but believe that these should be manageable. NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Aug. 31, 2011--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it revised its outlook on Fifth Third Bancorp and its subsidiaries to positive from stable. At the same time, we affirmed our 'BBB' long-term counterparty credit ratings on Fifth Third and the 'BBB+' ratings on its banking subsidiaries. "The rating action reflects our opinion that Fifth Third's credit quality continues to improve," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Daniel Teclaw. Net charge-offs
