Fifth Third Bank creates Charlotte-based health care team

Fifth Third Bank said Wednesday that it has formed a Charlotte-based team of bankers who will cater to the health care industry and its "growing needs."

The bank said it is creating the nine-member team at a time when health care providers need to make sure back-office processes and technology meet new regulatory requirements. The providers that the team will focus on include health systems, independent hospitals, managed-care organizations and physician group practices in North and South Carolina and Virginia.

The bankers will provide a range of financial services, from lending to cash-flow and asset and liability management.

Doug Robertson, who leads the health care team, said in a statement that health care organizations are operating "in unprecedented times, with enormous regulatory pressure" that can affect the quality of their services. Fifth Third will "seek to collaborate with providers to address these issues," he said.

Fifth Third is headquartered in Cincinnati. In Mecklenburg County, it is the fourth-largest bank as ranked by deposits and has 21 branches.