Alexander Coolidge

USA TODAY

Prominent personal finance guru Dave Ramsey is taking aim at Fifth Third after the regional bank said it would no longer sponsor his youth financial literacy program.

In a Wednesday statement to The Enquirer of Cincinnati, Ramsey's company Lampo Group accused Fifth Third Bank of “attempting to steal our customers” and likened the move to “going to a dinner party and stealing the silverware.”

Here's the full statement:

“For six years we had a great relationship with Fifth Third Bank, working together to provide financial education to high school students in the bank’s markets. Ramsey Solutions works with a variety of sponsors across many of our business units. We understand that sponsors come and sponsors go. It’s part of doing business and working with other organizations. We love working with like-minded companies all across the country in an effort to help people of all ages learn how to manage money wisely.

“Now, for the first time in our company’s history we have a sponsor attempting to steal our customers, bypassing us. That’s like going to a dinner party and stealing the silverware. Fifth Third acted in an unethical — and to be blunt — slimy manner. That’s not how we do business! We have great sponsors across the country. More than three million students have completed Foundations in Personal Finance at the high school level, and we will continue to provide quality financial curriculum to high school, middle school, and college students across the nation. Ramsey Solutions looks forward to working with honorable businesses that wish to join in that effort.”

The Enquirer has requested comment from Fifth Third on Ramsey's criticism.

Fifth Third officials said Tuesday the program by next summer will have educated one million students. However, officials said the bank is "reviewing other alternatives" for financial literacy. There was no immediate information available on how much Fifth Third spent to sponsor Ramsey's programs.

"The issue of financial literacy is one we are committed to," bank spokesman Larry Magnesen said Tuesday. "We will share more news soon but aren’t ready to make an announcement. … We wish the Dave Ramsey team the best."

Fifth Third officials confirmed the change after the best-selling author, radio host and personal finance guru alluded to it on Twitter.

Fifth Third sponsored the program, which consists of more than 10 weeks of classes targeted at juniors, in 1,700 high schools. Bank officials declined to say how much they spent supporting the program.

In his tweets, Ramsey expressed disappointment to followers. He said the high school program would still be in 30,000 schools, but "a few of them will have to pay or find a sponsor."