Huntington Bank Increases Investment in Cleveland With Sunday Hours and 200 New Jobs

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Feb 08, 2010, 06:00 ET

CLEVELAND, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Huntington Bank continues to invest in Greater Cleveland by expanding its customer services and workforce in the Cleveland area. The initiatives reflect Huntington's deep commitment to giving customers convenience and choice, and its ongoing efforts to invest in the Cleveland area -- one of its most important markets.

Beginning today, Huntington's 55 Cleveland-area banking offices will now be open seven days a week with expanded hours that include Sunday openings and weekday hours that begin earlier in the morning at 8 a.m. and extend into the evening to 7 p.m. Huntington also has added 150 new hires in the Cleveland area, bringing the total number of Huntington employees in greater Cleveland to more than 900. The bank plans to add another 50 new positions in commercial banking, treasury management, insurance, mortgage, asset-based lending and trust.

"At Huntington we know that consumers and small business owners are busier than ever and want the convenience of evening and Sunday hours," said Mary Navarro, senior executive vice president and retail and business banking director. "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."

Specifically, banking offices will be open on Sundays from noon to 4 p.m., on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Today's announcement is the continuation of a series of investments Huntington has made in the Cleveland market. Huntington recently opened a new banking office in 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. It is also the 7th largest SBA lender in the country.

Huntington has also added two board members and hired two executives, three of whom live in the Cleveland area. They include:

William R. Robertson, a 45-year resident of Cleveland and a former president, director and deputy chairman of National City Corp., joined the Huntington board in September. It was with the help of Robertson's leadership that National City became one of the country's premier banks during the 1970s, 1980s and into the mid-1990s.
Another new Huntington board member has strong ties in Cleveland. Richard "Rick" W. Neu, former chief financial officer, treasurer and director of Charter One Financial, was recently appointed to the board.
In 2009, Huntington appointed Randall Stickler as senior executive vice president and director of Commercial Real Estate (CRE).
Also last year, Huntington appointed Kevin Blakely as senior executive vice president and chief risk officer.

Robertson, Stickler and Blakely reside in Cleveland.

For more information about banking office hours visit www.huntington.com.

For more information about jobs at Huntington visit www.huntington.com/careers

About Huntington

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (Nasdaq: HBAN) is a $52 billion regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Through its affiliated companies, Huntington has been providing a full range of financial services including checking, loans, savings, insurance and investment services to customers for 144 years. Huntington also offers retail and commercial financial services online at huntington.com; through its technologically advanced, telephone bank; and through its network of over 1,300 ATMs.

SOURCE Huntington Bancshares Incorporated