Huntington Investment Company Adds Four Representatives to Its Columbus Team

Part of a Planned Companywide Expansion of Investment Representatives

COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Huntington Investment Company has kicked off a planned expansion of its banking office investment staff with the announcement that it has added four veteran investment representatives to its Columbus team.

"As consumers recover from the recession, advice is more critical than ever," said Dan Benhase senior executive vice president in charge of Huntington's Private Financial Group and Huntington Investment Company. "Clients are concerned about how to proceed in terms of investing and planning for their futures. These highly experienced and successful representatives will help to position us to serve our clients in every respect during these difficult times. This growth is taking place across all of our markets and more announcements will soon be forthcoming as we grow our team by 20 percent."

Those joining the firm in Columbus include:

    --  Jay O'Malley was previously employed by National City, Morgan
        Stanley and Chase. He has served clients in several branches and was a
        top ranked advisor in Columbus this year.  O'Malley is a graduate
        of Bowling Green State University with a bachelor's in marketing
        and communications.

    --  Tony Fidelibus and Andrew Kessinger were previously employed by Fifth
        Third, where as a team they were among the highest ranked performers and
        were the top ranked team in Central Ohio for several consecutive years.
        Fidelibus currently maintains the Chartered Retirement Planning
        Counselor Designation. Kessinger is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan
        University with a bachelor's in economics management.

    --  Patrick Riepenhoff was previously employed by National City, where he
        was one of the top retail financial advisors in the Zanesville
        territory.  He is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University with a
        bachelor's in economics management and a minor in accounting.

To assure its expanding customer base of high quality advice, The Huntington Investment Company will continue to seek the most experienced and successful representatives to join the Huntington team.

About Huntington

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (Nasdaq: HBAN) is a $52 billion regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Huntington has more than 143 years of serving the financial needs of its customers. Through our subsidiaries, including our banking subsidiary, The Huntington National Bank, we provide full-service commercial and consumer banking services, mortgage banking services, equipment leasing, investment management, trust services, brokerage services, customized insurance service program, and other financial products and services. Our over 600 banking offices are located in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, 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 almost 1,400 ATMs. The Auto Finance and Dealer Services group offers automobile loans to consumers and commercial loans to automobile dealers within our six-state banking franchise area. Selected financial service activities are also conducted in other states including: Private Financial Group offices in Florida; and Mortgage Banking offices in Maryland and New Jersey. International banking services are available through the headquarters office in Columbus and a limited purpose office located in both the Cayman Islands and Hong Kong.

Investment and Insurance products and services are offered by The Huntington Investment Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated and member FINRA/SIPC.

SOURCE Huntington Bancshares Incorporated

Released July 10, 2009