Fifth Third Bank: 2026 Home Equity Review

How Bankrate scored Fifth Third Bank 

Affordability: 5 stars

• APR: Fifth Third Bank advertises APRs on its website that are lower than the national average. However, the actual APR you receive will depend on your state, credit profile, loan amount and loan-to-value (LTV) ratio.
• Fees: Fifth Third doesn’t charge any closing costs for its home equity products. There is, however, an annual fee of $65 for HELOCs after the first year, although eligible Preferred Checking customers can get that waived. If you want to switch your HELOC interest rate from variable to fixed, you’ll need to pay a $95 fee. 

Fifth Third Bank scores a 5 out of 5 for affordability due to its competitive rates, the ability to switch your HELOC to a fixed-rate loan and lack of closing costs. 

Availability: 3.6 stars

• Loan products: Fifth Third Bank offers HELOCs and home equity loans, along with the ability to switch your variable-rate HELOC to a fixed-rate home equity loan — a good product mix. 
• Footprint: Fifth Third’s HELOCs and home equity loans are only available in 12 states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. 
• Loan minimum: The bank’s $10,000 minimum is similar to — if not a bit lower than — what you’ll find with other home equity lenders.  
• Credit score: Fifth Third does not disclose its minimum credit score requirements for home equity loans or HELOCs.

Fifth Third’s limited reach drags it down to a 3.6 out of 5 for availability. 

Borrower experience: 4.7 stars

• Transparency: On its website, Fifth Third discloses the minimum and maximum floors on its HELOCs, along with how they are indexed.  
• Convenience: Fifth Third allows you to view sample APRs by state and loan amount, which offers more tailored pricing., but does not provide educational resources like other lenders offer. However, to get a personalized rate quote, you’ll need to contact a representative or start the online application process.
• Customer service: Fifth Third has multiple service options, including the phone, online or one of its local branches. When we called Fifth Third’s home loan department, it took less than 30 seconds to be routed to a lending specialist who answered our questions about the bank’s home equity products.

Fifth Third’s borrower experience is enhanced by multiple contact methods and the ability to search APRs by state, giving the bank a 4.7 out of 5 rating. 

Fifth Third Bank’s reputation

In 2025, J.D. Power ranked Fifth Third Bank number one in retail banking customer satisfaction in Florida, where the company operates. J.D. Power also ranked Fifth Third’s mobile app as the best banking app among regional banks. Fifth Third has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) since 1928. While the lender gets an A+ rating on the BBB, it gets a 2.9-star rating on TrustPilot. 

• Methodology

  To determine a home equity lender's Bankrate Score, Bankrate rates lenders on a scale of one (1) to five (5) stars — with five (5) the highest rating — based on a variety of factors relating to the lender's products and services. To assign our ratings, we assessed each mortgage lender across three core areas:

  • Affordability: Annual percentage rate (APR) - 80%; introductory APR - 20%
  • Availability: Licensing - 50%; credit score - 20%; loan minimum - 10%; draw requirement - 10%; loan products - 10% 
  • Borrower experience: Rate transparency - 35%; convenience - 35%; customer service - 20%; fixed-rate options - 10%

  Learn more about our methodology.