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Huntington Bancshares Incorporated CONTACT:
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- March 1, 2005 -- Huntington
Bancshares Incorporated (Nasdaq: HBAN) (http://www.huntington.com)
announced it has entered into formal written agreements with its
banking regulators, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and
the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. These formal written agreements provide for a comprehensive
action plan designed to enhance Huntington's corporate governance,
internal audit, risk management, accounting policies and procedures,
and financial and regulatory reporting. They call for independent
third-party reviews, as well as the submission of written plans
and progress reports by management. The formal written agreements
remain in effect until terminated by the banking regulators. "Entering into these formal written agreements
is consistent with our expectations announced last November and
in line with steps that we have been taking to ensure that our corporate
governance and controls are best in class," said Hoaglin. "As
previously indicated, we have been working extensively with our
banking regulators over the past several months. While there is
work yet to be done, we have devoted significant resources in order
to address the issues raised. We are confident that we are on the
right path to address fully and comprehensively all of their concerns
in a timely manner. We also believe that the changes we have made,
and are in the process of making, are positive for our organization
and will position us to be a stronger company in the future." "No fines or monetary penalties will be assessed
against the company as a result of the bank regulatory actions,
and we reaffirm the earnings guidance provided on January 21, 2005,"
he concluded. Securities and Exchange Commission Formal Investigation As previously announced, Huntington continues to have
ongoing discussions with the staff of the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) regarding resolution of its previously announced
formal investigation into certain financial accounting matters relating
to fiscal years 2002 and earlier and certain related disclosure
matters. It is anticipated that a settlement of this matter, which
is subject to approval by the SEC, will involve the entry of an
order by the SEC requiring Huntington to comply with various provisions
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Securities Act of
1933, along with the imposition of a civil money penalty. At year
end, the company had reserves related to the expectation of the
imposition of a civil money penalty, which the company viewed as
sufficient given negotiations with the SEC. However, no assurances
can be made that any assessed penalty may not exceed this amount. Unizan Financial Acquisition As announced November 12, 2004, Huntington and Unizan
Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: UNIZ) have entered into an amendment to
their January 26, 2004 merger agreement extending the term of the
agreement for one year from January 27, 2005 to January 27, 2006,
and Huntington has withdrawn its application with the Federal Reserve
to acquire Unizan. Huntington intends to resubmit the application
for regulatory approval of the merger once the regulatory concerns
have been resolved. No assurances, however, can be provided as to
the ultimate timing or outcome of these matters. Additional Information The bank regulatory formal written agreements will
be filed with the SEC as exhibits to Huntington's Current Report
on Form 8-K. The Form 8-K can be accessed at http://www.sec.gov
or on the investor relations page of Huntington's web site at http://www.huntington.com
. A copy of the Federal Reserve agreement will be available at http://www.federalreserve.gov
, and a copy of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency agreement
will be available at http://www.occ.treas.gov. Forward-looking Statement This press release contains certain forward-looking
statements, including certain plans, expectations, goals, and projections,
which are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties.
A number of factors, including but not limited to those set forth
under the heading "Business Risks" included in Item 1
of Huntington's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December
31, 2003, and other factors described from time to time in Huntington's
other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, could
cause actual conditions, events, or results to differ significantly
from those described in the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking
statements included in this news release are based on information
available at the time of the release. Huntington assumes no obligation
to update any forward- looking statement. About Huntington Huntington Bancshares Incorporated is a $33 billion regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Through its affiliated companies, Huntington has more than 139 years of serving the financial needs of its customers. Huntington provides innovative retail and commercial financial products and services through more than 300 regional banking offices in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. Huntington also offers retail and commercial financial services online at huntington.com; through its technologically advanced, 24-hour telephone bank; and through its network of approximately 700 ATMs. Selected financial service activities are also conducted in other states including: Dealer Sales offices in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Arizona; Private Financial Group offices in Florida; and Mortgage Banking offices in Florida, Maryland, and New Jersey. International banking services are made available through the headquarters office in Columbus and an office located in the Cayman Islands and an office located in Hong Kong.
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