Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) is planning to acquire banks with the assistance of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The company intends to expand within its operating footprint instead of venturing beyond that. While the company has already evaluated some of the FDIC-assisted purchases, the deposit mix was neither suitable nor large enough. The company intends to acquire such banks with the FDIC’s assistance, which would significantly increase its market share in one or more markets. Fifth Third already has the experience of acquiring such troubled banks. Last year, the company completed the conversion of Bradenton-based Freedom Bank, which bank regulators had declared insolvent on Oct. 31, 2008 and the FDIC was named the receiver. Fifth Third Bank assumed approximately $250 million in failed Freedom Bank’s deposits from the FDIC. The transaction gave Fifth Third approximately $685 million in deposits in the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice Metropolitan Statistical ...