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CINCINNATI, Dec. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Fifth Third Bank today announced the launch of its Dream Guard initiative, including tools, tips and information designed to help consumers navigate today's financial uncertainty. Dream Guard materials explore practical ideas for dealing with stress, following a budget, talking to your kids about the economy and more, to help consumers save more, spend less and guard their dreams in the process.

Free Dream Guard brochures are available to anyone visiting Fifth Third's over 1,300 banking center locations, and additional tips and tools may be found on the Bank's Planning Center at www.53.com.

"For the past many months, we have been inundated with negative news related to the economy, leaving consumers feeling apprehensive and looking for reassurance that they will not only make it through this difficult time, but also make progress toward their financial goals," said Terry Zink, executive vice president and head of Retail and Affiliate Administration. "While Fifth Third has always provided this type of guidance to our customers, we wanted to take this opportunity to be more proactive and enhance our planning tools to help our customers stay true to their long-term goals and dreams. Now is the time to act, and the Dream Guard initiative provides us with the opportunity to remind consumers that Fifth Third Bank is here to help."

Dream Guard marks the Bank's second company-wide proactive awareness campaign following the launch of its 'You Have Options' campaign earlier this year designed to educate and communicate with customers who may be having difficulty making mortgage, credit card or other loan payments.

"This initiative takes a broad and more informational approach than our previous outreach efforts," continues Zink. "We realize that the current economic cycle impacts everyone differently, so our in-branch and online Dream Guard materials will be updated over time to reflect the variety of issues this climate may present."

Fifth Third Bancorp (Nasdaq: FITB) is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Company has $116 billion in assets, operates 18 affiliates with 1,306 full-service Banking Centers, including 93 Bank Mart(R) locations open seven days a week inside select grocery stores and 2,332 ATMs in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Georgia and North Carolina. Fifth Third operates five main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending, Investment Advisors and Fifth Third Processing Solutions. Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of September 30, 2008, has $196 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $30 billion for individuals, corporations and not-for- profit organizations. Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Fifth Third's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ(R) National Global Select Market under the symbol "FITB." Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.