Huntington president to retire

He said he is retiring so he can spend time with his
parents.

By DON SHILLING

VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR

Marty Adams is retiring after rising from the head of a rural bank in Columbiana County to become president and chief operating officer of Huntington Bancshares.

Adams, 54, who still lives in Salineville, said he is leaving the Columbus-based bank Dec. 31 so he can be near his parents.

“My role with Huntington would have required a permanent relocation, which became a difficult family issue,” Adams said Monday in a news release.

A Huntington spokeswoman said Adams would not be available for an interview.

The Associated Press noted that his retirement comes about two weeks after Huntington announced an accounting charge related to a relationship begun by Adams’ former company.

Huntington said it would take up to a $300 million charge and expected to report a loss in the fourth quarter stemming from loans made to Franklin Credit Management Corp., a subprime mortgage lender. For 17 years, Sky Financial had made loans to Franklin that it used to finance mortgages.

Adams joined Huntington in July when its merger with Sky Financial Group was completed. His base salary was $865,000 a year.

Sky Financial was based in Bowling Green, Ohio, but Adams was able to maintain his residence in Salineville. Adams had been president and chief executive of Sky Financial, which was the parent company of Sky Bank.

He was set to move up at Huntington before he resigned. The merger with Sky included a provision that would make Adams CEO of Huntington by Dec. 31, 2009. Thomas Hoaglin was to resign as CEO at that time but remain chairman until 2011, when he was to retire.

Hoaglin said those plans are no longer in effect. He will become president when Adams leaves, and the board of directors will develop succession plans.

Adams started making a name for himself as president and CEO of Citizens Bancshares, a small, bank-holding company in Salineville. From 1989 to 1996, the company’s assets quadrupled as Citizens bought several small banks in Ohio and West Virginia.

In 1998, Citizens merged with MidAm Inc. of Bowling Green to create Sky Financial. This new company continued growing larger by acquiring banks such as Mahoning National Bank of Youngstown.

Adams will serve as a consultant to Huntington for one year following his retirement to assist with matters concerning Franklin Credit Management Corp. and other transitional issues.

“We are grateful to Marty for his leadership at Huntington and the important role he played in ensuring a smooth integration of Huntington and Sky,” said David L. Porteous, Huntington’s lead director.

Hoaglin noted that Adams had a distinguished 30-year career, helping to build a small community bank into an $18 billion diversified financial holding company with locations throughout the Midwest.

“We wish him the best in retirement,” Hoaglin said.

Huntington has $55 billion in assets and more than 600 branches in six states.

shilling@vindy.com