Huntington growing in Cleveland
kresge February 9th, 2010
Columbus-based Huntington Bancshares continues its push into the Cleveland market by expanding banking hours and adding employees there.
The bank, which is the market leader in the Columbus area, ranks fifth in the Cleveland market. the leader there, National City Corp., was bought at the end of 2008 by PNC Financial Services. Experts say the change could result in customer churn.
Huntington offered Cleveland consumers and small businesses reason to consider a switch yesterday. Its 55 banking offices in that market are now open seven days a week, it announced. It also has added 150 employees, bringing its total work force in greater Cleveland to more than 900.
In addition, the bank plans to add 50 other positions in commercial banking, treasury management, insurance, mortgage, asset-based lending and trusts.
“The expanded hours are part of a larger Huntington strategy aimed at investing in Cleveland through more customer services as well as jobs that can help stimulate the economy,” said Mary Navarro, senior executive vice president and retail and business banking director, in a news release.
The increases come on the heels of the loss of jobs and banking offices in the Cleveland area as Pittsburgh-based PNC merges its operations with National City’s.
The banking-industry shakeup in the Cleveland market doesn’t begin and end with National City. in December, Cleveland-based AmTrust Bank was seized by federal regulators and was bought by New York Community Bank.
As of June, National City was the Cleveland area’s biggest bank, with $20.1 billion in deposits in the market and a 30.5 percent market share, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Huntington ranked fifth with $3.6 billion in deposits there, representing a 5.5 percent market share.
“It’s a push for market share in a market where there have been bank closures and changes of management,” said Ken Mayland of ClearView Economics in the Cleveland area. “Banking ultimately is about convenience, and so one way that they wish to promote themselves and distinguish themselves is through greater service.
“The danger is, the move could be greatly watered down if other institutions follow suit and do the same things,” he said. “However, we have a large Pittsburgh bank now, you know. Maybe Huntington Bank is counting on the rivalry expanding beyond the football field.”
A PNC spokesman did not return a call seeking comment.
Huntington has taken steps before to strengthen its ties with Cleveland. in September, it added William Robertson, a longtime National City executive, to its board. Also last year, the bank appointed two other Cleveland bankers to executive positions: Randall Strickler as director of commercial real estate and Kevin Blakely as chief risk officer.
In addition, a recent appointee to Huntington’s board has strong ties to Cleveland: Richard W. Neu is a former chief financial officer, treasurer and director of Charter one Financial.
Huntington recently opened a banking office in Cleveland’s western suburb of Avon and has focused on small-business lending to help job creation in Cleveland. As a result, Huntington was recently named the No. 1 SBA lender in Cleveland.
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