Fifth Third Bank unit starts buying insurance agencies

Fifth Third Insurance Agency Inc., a unit of Fifth Third Bancorp, said Monday that it has agreed to buy R.G. McGraw Insurance Agency Inc. in Cincinnati.

The acquisition is the first deal that Fifth Third has executed since it brought on Howard McClure, a long-time brokerage and insurer executive, early last year to lead a strategic expansion of its insurance brokerage unit. According to a Fifth Third Bancorp spokesman the company intends to make more insurance agency acquisitions.

The transaction is expected to close in early March. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

R.G. McGraw, which has one office, provides property/casualty insurance and risk management analysis for commercial lines across a range of industries, as well as personal lines services, Cincinnati-based Fifth Third said in a statement.