Fifth Third Bancorp, an Ohio-based bank that is expanding in Chicago, has been ordered to hire an independent consultant to review its auditing and risk management practices after a bookkeeping error prompted a regulatory review.
Cincinnati-based Fifth Third said Thursday it has 10 days to retain an outside firm to investigate the bank's procedures, evaluate the qualifications of its senior officers and improve the bank's corporate governance practices.
The consultant will submit a report on its findings to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and the Ohio Department of Commerce, which ordered the review.
The regulators took action after a bookkeeping error at Fifth Third's treasury department resulted in a third-quarter charge of $54 million.
"Fifth Third is extremely serious about risk management and internal controls, and we are working hard to take the necessary steps to strengthen our processes in order to fully cooperate with the respective regulatory agencies," Fifth Third President and CEO George Schaefer Jr., said in a statement.
Fifth Third, with $81 billion in assets, has 103 branches in the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana. The bank plans to hire at least 200 people and build 20 more branches here this year.