Huntington Exceeds $4 Billion Lending Commitment to Small Businesses in the Midwest

More than 24,000 small businesses helped

COLUMBUS, Ohio–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Huntington Bank (NASDAQ: HBAN; www.huntington.com) announced today that it has exceeded its 2010 $4 billion lending commitment to small businesses in six states. More than 24,000 small businesses obtained loans over the three-year period, helping to jump start hiring in Huntington’s markets, which stretch from West Virginia to Michigan. Small businesses create more than 66 percent of all new jobs.

“Huntington was one of the first banks during the economic downturn to commit to increased small business lending,” said Huntington’s President, Chairman and CEO Steve Steinour. “We made the commitment after listening to business owners who needed loans to navigate the weak economy, while investing in their businesses’ future growth. We also hired more than 150 additional business bankers to work with businesses and take a second-look at loan applications to make certain nothing was missed in determining their qualifications for a loan.”

In addition, the innovative program offered turnaround lending for small businesses. With this portion of the program, a business that had a long history of success, but suffered losses during the recession, could obtain a turnaround loan if they had several quarters of profitability and reasonable projections for future growth.

Huntington’s small-business loan commitment targeted Midwest states throughout the bank’s service area. The approximate number of businesses in each state obtaining loans included: