Huntington Survey Finds Consumers are Making Financial Resolutions for the New Year

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- A new survey conducted by Huntington Bank shows that an overwhelming 73 percent of consumers feel they've been personally affected by the economic downturn and they're willing to make some financial New Year's resolutions to make up for it.

The online opinion survey, conducted from December 1 through December 15, found that of the respondents who planned on making a resolution for 2009, "Sticking to a budget," was the No. 1 response with 62 percent of votes. Paying off credit card debt (58 percent) and investing more money (31 percent) round out the top three resolutions for 2009.

Of the consumers who made a financial New Year's resolution last year, the majority (60 percent) said they did not accomplish their goals. In fact, more than 57 percent of respondents say that not saving enough money is the biggest financial mistake they've made over the past five years. Forty-four percent said that buying a house was their biggest accomplishment over the same time frame.

When it comes to saving money, 61 percent of respondents said they save on a regular basis. Of those respondents, 32 percent have saved 2 percent or less of their annual household income over the last five years. Twenty-two percent said they have saved between three and five percent, and 21 percent said they've saved between five and 10 percent. The top reasons for not saving on a regular basis were living paycheck to paycheck (71 percent) and credit card debt (51 percent).

"Consumers have been faced with financial challenges this year, and considering those ups and downs we've seen during the last several months, we want to make sure consumers know we can help," said Mary Navarro, Huntington's regional banking group president. "We, at Huntington, are happy to see that consumers are thinking about their future financial goals and we're here to help them take the right steps to accomplish those goals."

For complete survey results, contact Jeri Grier (jeri.grier@huntington.com) or 614-480-5413.

Survey Methodology

Huntington Bank contacted 745 U.S. adults via an online survey from December 1 through December 15, 2008. Respondents represented states throughout the Midwest and were restricted to completing only one survey each.

About Huntington

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated is a $55 billion regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Huntington has more than 142 years of serving the financial needs of its customers. Huntington's banking subsidiary, The Huntington National Bank, provides innovative retail and commercial financial products and services through over 600 regional banking offices 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. Selected financial service activities are also conducted in other states including: Auto Finance & Dealer Services offices in Arizona, Florida, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, and Texas; Private Financial and Capital Markets Group offices in Florida; and Mortgage Banking offices in Maryland and New Jersey. Huntington Insurance offers retail and commercial insurance agency services in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, and West Virginia. International banking services are made available through the headquarters office in Columbus, a limited purpose office located in the Cayman Islands, and another located in Hong Kong.

SOURCE Huntington Bancshares Incorporated

Released January 5, 2009