Chief U.S. Economist
Fifth Third Bank

William (Bill) Adams is Chief U.S. Economist at Fifth Third Bank, N.A. He contributes to Fifth Third’s house view of the U.S. economy and the top macro themes affecting businesses and consumers. Bill has been recognized as one of America’s top economic forecasters in rankings compiled by Bloomberg, Focus Economics, and Consensus Economics. He is frequently quoted in the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and Reuters, and is a regular guest on Fox Business and NPR’s Marketplace. He delivers dozens of presentations annually to audiences across Fifth Third’s footprint, providing actionable insights to business executives and investors.

Bill joined the bank in 2022 after spending the prior 10 years with The PNC Financial Services Group, where he served as senior vice president and senior economist. He began his economic forecasting career working as The Conference Board’s China Economist from 2009 to 2011, and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.

Bill is co-author of In Line Behind a Billion People: How Scarcity Will Define China’s Ascent in the Next Decade, published in 2013 by the Financial Times Press. He is a member of the National Association for Business Economics and the Dallas Economics Club. He also serves on the board of directors of the Feeding North Texas Foundation, the endowment for the North Texas Food Bank.

Bill holds a masters degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard.