Huntington reports 13 decrease in profit

By Brandon Klein | October 18, 2014 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Columbus-based Huntington National Bank reported a decrease in its third-quarter earnings compared with the same period a year ago.

The bank made a profit of $155 million, or 18 cents per share, down from $178.8 million, or 20 cents per share, in the same period of 2013.

“Performance highlights include ongoing strength in commercial and auto lending, which support our expectation of a strong back half of the year driven by solid demand and a quality pipeline,” said Steve Steinour, chairman, president and CEO, in a statement.

“We are also pleased with deposit growth, which is in part supported by our improved distribution network that saw 50 in-store locations attain break-even or better status in the past quarter, and also the successful conversion of 24 Michigan branches furthering our presence in new markets in our service area,” Steinour said.

Huntington operates in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, West Virginia and Kentucky. It is Youngstown’s largest bank by deposits and market share.

Huntington Bank announced Friday that it is the nation’s largest lender in the number of loans for the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Huntington made 4,183 SBA loans in its six-state footprint, an increase of 37 percent over last year when the bank was the third-largest lender in the country. In Ohio, Huntington made 2,368 loans totaling $286 million.

Automobile loans were up 32 percent year-over-year in the third quarter.

“We love to be able to support that,” said Frank Hierro, regional president of the Mahoning Valley at Huntington, highlighting the increase in auto loans.

The decrease of $24 million in earnings from the third quarter in 2013 was attributed to the consolidation of 26 branches and the net expenses related to acquisition of the 24 Bank of America branches and Camco Financial, said Todd Beekman, senior manager in investor relations at the bank.

Net charge-offs (debts unlikely to be collected) decreased 46 percent.

“Overall, it was a very strong quarter,” Hierro said.