Fifth Third CEO Says $200 Million Loan Fraud Is ‘One-Off’ Issue

Fifth Third Bancorp, which said it was the victim of fraud on a loan with a $200 million balance, believes the situation was an isolated incident in the company’s warehouse-lending business, according to Chief Executive Officer Tim Spence.

The Cincinnati-based bank expects to lose substantially all of the loan’s balance, and for the “one-off” incident to result in “a fair amount of litigation,” Spence said Wednesday at a Barclays Plc financial-services conference. Fifth Third said in a filing late Tuesday that it’s “working with the appropriate law enforcement authorities in connection with this matter.”