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Fifth Third Bancorp finally has figured out what to do with Tom Perciak: Let him be Tom Perciak.
The Cleveland office of the Cincinnati bank spent months determining what role the former chief executive officer of Emerald Financial Corp. should play after Strongsville-based Emerald was bought by Fifth Third last August.
After trying several management assignments, Mr. Perciak has settled into a role as executive vice president in charge of the bank's mortgage division in Northeast Ohio. The assignment will let him to do what his colleagues and competitors say he does best: Build relationships.
"Tom is far too valuable an asset to be sitting behind a desk," said Robert King Jr., president and CEO
of Fifth Third Bank of Northeastern Ohio, which is based in Cleveland and operates 76 branches in Cuyahoga County and six surrounding counties.
Indeed, officials at Fifth Third say they hope the hard-charging Mr. Perciak, who built an extensive stable of clients during his 20 years as CEO of Emerald, will breathe life into Fifth Third's residential mortgage operations in the Cleveland area, where the bank lags behind competitors.
Fifth Third originated $46.2 million in mortgages to home buyers last year in Cuyahoga County. That amount was roughly one tenth the $447 million generated in the county by market leader Third Federal Savings & Loan Association of Cleveland, according to figures from Transamerica Intellitech, a real estate information firm in Sacramento, Calif.
"There's no question that we're still viewed as the new kid on the...