Fifth Third (FITB) EVP Kala Exercises 7,018 SARs

What Happened
Gibson Kala, Executive Vice President of Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), exercised 7,018 stock appreciation rights (SARs) on 2026-08-04. The exercise resulted in acquisition of 7,018 shares at an effective exercise value of $26.52 per share (total $186,117). Simultaneously, 4,821 shares were withheld to satisfy tax withholding at $57.77 per share (total $278,509). The SARs convert into shares (the derivative was surrendered/converted), leaving a net increase of 2,197 shares retained by Kala.

Key Details

• Transaction date: 2026-08-04; Form 4 filed: 2026-08-05 (appears timely).
• Exercise/acquired: 7,018 shares @ $26.52 = $186,117 (code M).
• Tax withholding/disposed: 4,821 shares @ $57.77 = $278,509 (code F).
• Derivative surrendered/converted: 7,018 units @ $0.00 (code M, shown as disposed).
• Net shares gained: 2,197 (7,018 exercised − 4,821 withheld). Total shares held after the transaction are not specified in the filing.
• Footnote: F1—these were stock appreciation rights; they vest quarterly beginning one year after grant, with 1/4 of the grant vesting each year over four years.

Context
This is a routine cashless-style exercise of SARs with shares withheld to cover taxes—not an open-market purchase or a discretionary sale of shares. Withholding to cover tax liability is common and does not necessarily signal a change in insider sentiment.