Fifth Third reports quarterly loss

* Fifth Third has second straight quarterly loss

* Net charge-offs quadruple

* Would consider participating in Treasury plan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB.O), a large U.S. Midwest regional bank, posted its second straight quarterly loss on Tuesday, hurt by increased credit losses and several charges.

The third-quarter net loss for the Cincinnati-based company was $56 million. Including preferred stock dividends, the loss was $81 million, or 14 cents per share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $325 million, or 61 cents a share. Fifth Third lost $202 million in the second quarter.

Results included charges of 6 cents per share to write down Fannie Mae (FNM.N) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N) preferred stock, 5 cents per share from a Visa Inc (V.N) settlement with Discover Financial Services (DFS.N), and 4 cents per share for some bank-owned life insurance policies. They also included a 5-cent-per-share gain from a prior acquisition.

Analysts on average expected a profit of 19 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Fifth Third set aside $941 million for loan and lease losses, up from $139 million a year earlier. Net charge-offs quadrupled to $463 million.

Like many rivals, Fifth Third has been hurt this year by mounting credit losses, especially in residential real estate, commercial mortgage and commercial construction portfolios in Florida and Michigan.

In June it raised $1.1 billion of capital, slashed its dividend 66 percent, and set plans to raise another $1 billion through asset sales.

The bank ended September with a Tier-1 capital ratio, which measures its ability to cover losses, of 8.53 percent, above the 6 percent regulatory minimum.

Chief Executive Kevin Kabat said the bank was evaluating whether to participate in U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's plan to inject $250 billion into the banking system. "We would also expect to reevaluate our plans and activities with respect to pursuing a current sale of non-core assets as part of our capital plan," he said.

Shares of Fifth Third closed Monday at $12.23 on the Nasdaq. The shares have fallen 51 percent this year, compared with a 35 percent decline in the KBW Bank Index .BKX.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)