Our Communities. Our Stories.

Our
Communities.
Our Stories.
The 2004 Report to the Community
We’re a bank
invested in people.
2
Community
Development
Yes, we’re bankers. We’re also moms and dads, friends and neighbors, soccer
coaches and scout leaders. We’re driving carpools, hosting book clubs, planting
gardens and talking over back fences. We care about our homes, our neighborhoods,
our schools and our futures. For each of us, being a member of our community
doesn’t just happen on our own time. Because we’re Huntington Bank, it’s all
day, every day.
7
Financial
Education
Since we live in the communities in which we work, we have a good idea of how to
improve things. We help small businesses to get started and established businesses
to grow. We share our knowledge of all things financial and make it possible for
people to own homes. We show kids the value of a dollar. We partner up to breathe
life back into once proud neighborhoods. We serve on boards and as volunteers.
We honor our diverse cultures. We help support the sick. And we realize that life
tastes sweeter when enhanced by the arts.
But it’s not about us. It’s really about everyone around us – our partners and
those we serve.
12
Charitable
Giving
11
Smart Commute Plus
Huntington has joined with Fannie Mae and local transit
authorities in Columbus and Cleveland to provide affordable
housing while reducing traffic congestion. The Smart
Commute Plus program allows prospective borrowers who
purchase homes within a quarter mile of a public transportation stop to add to their qualifying income a portion
of the savings they’d reap from taking a bus or train. In
addition, homebuyers receive a free pass from the transit
authority and may also take advantage of a low downpayment option. Further, the program’s flexible, qualifying
guidelines include features to help teachers, police officers
and firefighters to buy a home.
NxLevel Entrepreneurial
Training Program
Community
Development
For us, community development is just another way to say we work hard to
improve our neighborhoods. And we don’t limit ourselves when it comes to
how we play a part in accomplishing this. We look at everything big picture.
In other words, we have a holistic approach. We go to different community
groups and find out what they need. It may be a construction loan. It may
be counseling. It may be an extra set of hands. It may even be something
completely new for us. Working together, we watch dreams come true. Here
are some of our stories…
2
Central and
Northern Ohio
East Michigan
As a member of the Oakland County CRA Association,
Huntington was able to take part in a very exciting opportunity for entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. The
36-hour NxLevel Entrepreneurial Training Program allowed
business owners with at least one year of operating experience
in low-to-moderate income areas to complete a plan for
sustained growth, receive specialized guidance, develop
marketing strategies, learn about legal structures, risk
management and employee issues, and take the mystery
out of financial statements. Best of all, the program fee was
refunded to those who completed the course requirements.
3
Covington’s First Employer-Assisted Housing Initiative
Our Mortgage Group teamed up with Fannie Mae to help firefighters, police officers,
municipal workers and teachers become homeowners. Through this initiative, qualified
participants are eligible for a “forgivable” loan of up to $7000 to use for downpayment and
closing costs, housing information and education, and innovative financing options. This
kind of loan is due in full upon the sale, transfer, refinance or vacating of the property by
the homeowner, and the loan becomes a grant if the owner occupies the home for 15 years.
Southern Ohio/
Kentucky
Kent County
Tax Credit Coalition
KCTCC
Last year, area residents reclaimed millions of dollars in tax
refunds thanks to a program from the Kent County Tax Credit
Coalition. Huntington is proud to participate in this program
which provides free tax preparation to eligible taxpayers, and
brings their attention to the Earned Income Tax Credit and
other credits that could result in up to a $4000 refund. As
members of the KCTCC, we helped develop the Coalition’s
marketing program and offered both volunteers and locations
for income tax preparation. While on site, our associates opened
checking and savings accounts, while members of our Mortgage
Group were on hand to discuss home purchase opportunities.
West Michigan
Business Development
Nurturing our customers’ growth is important to Huntington. Recently, one of our business
customers, a civil engineering firm, needed to expand. To help him achieve his goals, we
extended a loan of nearly $1 million to cover the purchase of a building in the Clarksburg
area. This expansion resulted in 40 new jobs, all part of the West Virginia 911 initiative
designed to properly identify legal addresses for emergency service.
West
Virginia
4
5
Central Ohio and
Southern Ohio/
Kentucky
Community HomeChoice
In yet another effort to tear down the barriers to homeownership, our regions originated a fixed-rate loan to meet
the housing needs of people with disabilities or households
who have family members with disabilities. This program
features expanded underwriting criteria and allows for
non-occupant co-borrowers. Going beyond the lending,
the first-time homebuyers also completed a homebuyer
education program to get them started off right.
Financial
American Dream
Downpayment Initiative
East Michigan
6
Another Oakland County CRA Association effort is the
American Dream Downpayment Initiative, designed to
increase the homeownership rate, especially among lowincome and minority households. We’re proud to be a part
of this initiative, helping first-time homebuyers clear the
biggest hurdles to ownership – downpayment and closing
costs. This program also offers rehabilitation assistance to
eligible families, further improving the neighborhoods in
our community.
Education
Sharing information is at the heart of financial education. It’s never too
early…and it’s certainly never too late. Whether helping a child to understand
the importance of saving or showing a college student how to use credit
wisely or removing a family’s barriers to homeownership, Huntington
believes in the power of being financially literate. We love nothing more
than customizing educational programs for our community partners. We
find out what they need. We provide the materials. And our associates share
their expertise. After all, we’re here to help people. And what better way is
there than enabling them to help themselves?
7
East Michigan
One Family at a Time
Banking for Living
It would be tempting to say that a Pontiac family received
special treatment from our East Michigan associates, but
this kind of thing happens all the time. In this case, our
customers were a low-income family who didn’t believe
they could actually own a home. Huntington partnered
with The Lighthouse of Oakland County, a development
company committed to providing affordable housing to
low-income and first-time homebuyers. After completing
a comprehensive financial education class sponsored by
Huntington Bank, the family became eligible for a
Community Access Mortgage (CAM) loan and are now
living in their own home.
Every year at Toledo’s McKinley Elementary School, the
School Bank opens for business on the second and fourth
Thursday of the month. It has proven to be a very successful,
hands-on approach to learning about money management.
Job interviews are conducted for the school bank positions
and each “hired” student goes through job training before
experiencing what it’s like to run their own bank. They
open new accounts, make deposits, count money, provide
security and balance accounts at the end of the day. Since
its inception in 1989, these future bankers have processed
aggregate savings account balances of more than $120,000!
Northern Ohio
Accounting for Kids
Since 2000, our Cincinnati associates have made the subject
of money a whole lot of fun for inner-city students.
Accounting for Kids Day puts more than 400 volunteer
business leaders in more than 60 public school classrooms
to play a specially developed game about buying and selling
stocks. When a pizza party is added to the mix, there’s no
end to the excitement. The truth is, we’re not sure who
enjoys themselves more – the kids or our associates.
8
Wealthy Street
Southern Ohio/
Kentucky
West Michigan
A valuable partnership has been formed with our neighbor
on Wealthy Street – the Learning Corner, operated by
Grand Rapids Community College. Here, Huntington
associates conduct weekly classes using the Money Smart
program. This alliance allows us to nurture long-term
relationships with each student.
9
Realtor Training
Central Ohio
Latino Community Seminars
Central Ohio has a growing, vibrant Latino population and Huntington is committed to
helping it thrive. This past year, we’ve conducted homebuying seminars in both Spanish
and English, taught a class for The Ohio State University’s “Spanish in Ohio” course,
distributed the Money Smart curriculum to Centro Esperanza Latino (Latino Hope
Center), provided credit counseling at the Minority Homeownership Fair and participated
monthly in “Tu casa, nuestro sueno,” a radio call-in show.
In 2004, we presented our mortgage products to more
than 500 realtors throughout West Virginia. Discussions
covered FHA and VA options, as well as the Fannie Mae
“Welcome Home” program, assisting those low-to-moderate
income borrowers with slightly impaired credit. Realtors
also learned about the Community Access Mortgage (CAM),
another product for low-to-moderate income borrowers
in which we lend 100% of the purchase price for owneroccupied dwellings while waiving the mortgage insurance
requirement. In our sessions, we shared with realtors another
important community revitalizing component – in CAM
loans we can include up to $25,000 for home improvements.
West Virginia
Money Smart Week
Padnos Iron Works
Several years ago, the leading family-owned businesses in
West Michigan came to us with a problem. Padnos Iron
Works was concerned about their employees’ money management skills. Using the Money Smart program, a 10-part
curriculum developed by the FDIC, Huntington began
conducting lunch-hour presentations at their corporate
headquarters. Responding to evolving needs, the program
was expanded last year to include a Spanish language class.
10
West Michigan
The first step to financial security is planning a personal budget. The second step is sticking
to it. Participants in the “Money Matters” class came to understand that budgeting is about
making choices when it comes to spending money. This is just one of the classes that our
East Michigan associates taught during April’s Money Smart Week. Other topics included
using credit cards responsibly, learning about investments, developing interview skills,
understanding installment loans and preparing to buy a home.
East Michigan
11
Power Up
In 2004, the Power Up program in Central Ohio donated 65
PCs to non-profit organizations to aid in their financial
education efforts. In Toledo, three computers went to ASSETS
(A Service for Self-Employment Training and Support),
a group that provides hands-on training, peer mentoring,
a support network and capital to low-to-moderate income
individuals. Having computers allows these kinds of groups
to teach basic computer skills and financial principles, as
well as assist with writing business plans.
Central and
Northern Ohio
Charitable
Giving
We can’t have healthy communities without first having healthy families. For
Huntington, that translates directly into supporting those organizations that
make our families stronger – civic and community groups, health and social
welfare agencies and arts and cultural institutions. Our donations of money,
volunteer hours and guidance help hundreds of groups in all of our regions.
And our associates tell us just how personally enriching these experiences
can be, whether reading to children or serving on Boards of Directors or
collecting winter coats for those in need.
12
East Michigan
Child Safety ID Day
We couldn’t put it any better than one police officer did when he said, “That was the best
overtime duty I ever pulled…” He was referring to a Huntington-POAM (Police Officer
Association of Michigan) event that brought officers into all 41 East Michigan banking
offices. More than 700 families and 1100 children participated in Child Safety ID Day,
resulting in the widespread distribution of free child DNA collection kits, along with a
Huntington piggybank for the kids.
13
Southern Ohio/
Kentucky
Children‘s Hunger
Boys & Girls Clubs
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Cincinnati was the
beneficiary of last summer’s inaugural Carson Palmer Golf
Classic, held at The Heritage Club and sponsored by
Huntington. Twenty-eight teams of four golfers were
matched with local celebrities to play a scramble format.
Later that week, the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback hosted
a passing and receiving camp for area youth. The money
raised at both events helps the Clubs provide children with
the necessary tools for a bright, successful future.
Playhouse Square
Northern Ohio
14
Alliance
Perhaps nowhere is our holistic approach to community participation more
apparent than our commitment to the Children’s Hunger Alliance and our
collaborative effort known as IMPACT (Instructing Metropolitan Professionals
About Community Teaching). In addition to financial support, we had the
chance to share much more. Our associates served on the steering committee
and the Board of Directors and assisted participants with their business plans
and grant writing. It was rewarding to have this dual effort receive an
“Innovative Approach Award” by the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, but more importantly, we helped 32 after-school providers to develop
business plans and were able to leverage our monetary contributions into more
than $416,000 in USDA dollars.
Central Ohio
Huntington and Cleveland’s Playhouse Square go hand-inhand like a seasoned dance duo. As the name sponsor of
the Huntington STAR Performance Series, we help bring
four spectacular Broadway Series shows to Cleveland every
year. The Cleveland theatre district ranks second only to
New York in theatre attendance, attracting a phenomenal
one million audience members annually.
15
Indiana
Central Ohio
Markets: Bellefontaine,
Chillicothe, Columbus,
Lima, London and
Washington Court House
Peyton’s Pals
Our partner, Indianapolis Colts’ Peyton Manning, created
“Peyton’s Pals” to give neglected and abused children the
chance to experience art and culture in their community.
Our associates have chaperoned field trips and mentored the
group’s students. An important aspect of Peyton’s Pals is to
allow these children to give back to their own communities.
Last year, the kids enjoyed hosting a pizza party for one of
our customers, Joy’s House, an adult daycare facility.
Southern Ohio/Kentucky
Markets: Cincinnati,
Dayton, Springfield, OH;
Northern Kentucky
Northern Ohio
Markets: Ashland, Bowling
Green, Cleveland, Dover,
Geauga, Kent, Mansfield,
Port Clinton and Toledo
West Michigan
Markets: Grand Rapids,
Holland, Kalamazoo,
Muskegon and Traverse
City
East Michigan
Markets: Metropolitan
Detroit
Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute
West Virginia
The Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute is the
only non-profit institute with a dedicated study of human
memory. Its primary mission is to accelerate neurological
discoveries from the lab, including diagnostic tools and
treatments, directly to patients who are suffering from neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s. We were pleased to
be able to contribute to this worthy organization and their
development last year of two promising drug treatments
for Alzheimer's disease.
Markets: Clarksburg, Elkins,
Fairmont, Harrisville,
Huntington, Lavalette,
Morgantown, Parkersburg
and Weston
16
Indiana
Markets: Indianapolis and
Lafayette
West Virginia
Ohio
West Virginia
Kentucky
Associates: 5,800
Banking Offices: 167
Associates: 400
Banking Offices: 27
Associates: 200
Banking Offices: 12
Michigan
Indiana
Total
Associates: 1,700
Banking Offices: 112
Associates: 300
Banking Offices: 21
Associates: 8,400
Banking Offices: 339
Huntington Center, 41 S. High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43287
(614) 480-8300
huntington.com
®
and Huntington® are federally registered service marks of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated.
© 2005 Huntington Bancshares Incorporated.
08070202