HUNTERSVILLE – Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bancorp recently announced a 6-cent, first-quarter cash dividend on its common shares, an increase of 5 cents from its previous quarterly dividend rate. The dividend is payable April 21, to shareholders of record as of Friday, April 1.

“The action by the Fifth Third board was made possible because the Federal Reserve had no objection to the capital plan submitted by Fifth Third as part of the most recent round of stress tests required by the country’s 19 largest banks,” spokesman Dick George said in a news release.