Huntington Bank Appoints James Cannella Asset-Based Lending Director

COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Huntington Bank has named James V. Cannella, a Cleveland, Ohio-based executive, as senior vice president and director of asset-based lending. Cannella oversees and leads all aspects of Huntington's new asset-based lending group.

"Jim's depth and breadth of experience in asset-based lending structures and industry standards will help Huntington to become an industry leader," said Jim Dunlap, senior executive vice president, regional and commercial banking director. "He has the leadership we need to build, manage and grow an asset-based lending unit with an intense focus on low to moderate risk."

Cannella's responsibilities include hiring, managing and developing a team of commercial loan officers with expertise in asset-based lending. He is also responsible for risk and operational management, including credit quality and account management.

"I'm very excited to join the Huntington team, which has developed a strong plan for growth," said Cannella. "I look forward to building an asset-based lending group that can meet and exceed Huntington's expectations.  Our focus will be involved in financing transactions for manufacturers, distributors, some retailers and service companies.  We will not pursue factoring of accounts receivable."

Cannella most recently served as managing director and regional marketing manager for National City Business Credit, Inc., where he managed a business development team covering Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Chicago, Minneapolis, Denver, Florida, Atlanta and Charlotte. Cannella was also senior vice president and new business development officer for PNC Financial Services Group/PNC Business Credit. In that role, he was responsible for new business development in Northeastern Ohio. Before joining PNC, Cannella served as vice president and marketing officer for National City Commercial Finance.

Cannella earned his bachelor's degree in accounting from the Pennsylvania State University and is a certified public accountant. He is a member and former president of the Ohio Regional Chapter of the Commercial Finance Association, former board member of the Turnaround Management Association and a member of the Association for Corporate Growth.

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 has more than 600 banking offices across six states. Huntington also offers retail and commercial financial services online at huntington.com; through its telephone bank; and through its network of over 1,300 ATMs.

SOURCE Huntington Bancshares Incorporated