Fifth Third Bank is the first servicer to get the first Five Star designation from Fannie Mae, the first firm to get the highest distinction for a servicer since the program was started in 2011.

Fifth Third has been moving out of lending and more into servicing operations.

The Star program was created to measure servicers across key operational and performance areas relative to their peers and to recognize high achievement through STAR designations. 

“We are pleased to see servicers’ continued efforts to improve their operations, help homeowners and meet Fannie Mae’s goals and for the first time, recognize the strong progress made by Fifth Third Bank in achieving a Five Star designation,” said Leslie Peeler, senior vice president of national servicing organization at Fannie Mae. “The most notable progress we have seen is in foreclosure prevention efforts, helping to keep families in their homes. We will continue to share observations of best practices with servicers throughout 2014 to drive even more success.”

The Star program is based on scorecard metrics related to customer service and foreclosure prevention results and operational assessments of the servicer’s processes, policies and capabilities.

Five stars means the company has consistent processes with repeatable outcomes in every reviewed area, and consistent advances in achieving Fannie Mae’s objectives.