Fifth Third bank executive vice president Arnold resigns

A Fifth Third Bancorp spokeswoman said Executive Vice President Neal Arnold has resigned effective Monday.

Arnold was in charge of the company's investment adviser, payment processing, mortgage and consumer lending businesses, Cincinnati-based Fifth Third said Monday in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange commission. Spokeswoman Debra DeCourcy declined to provide further comment. Fifth Third has numerous branches in metro Detroit.

Arnold was Fifth Third's chief financial officer until April of last year. In September the bank said that Mark Graf, who took over as finance chief from Arnold, will resign Jan. 31 for personal reasons.

Fifth Third last month reported that third-quarter profit fell 16% because of rising expenses and slow growth in deposits.

Shares of Fifth Third fell 7 cents Monday to $42.15 in Nasdaq composite trading. They have dropped 11% this year.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.