NEWS RELEASE                                HUNTINGTON BANKS LOGO


FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT:
MEDIA                                       ANALYSTS
- -----                                       --------
GAIL GESHWILM     (614) 480-5413            LAURIE COUNSEL   (614) 480-3878
                                            CHERI GRAY       (614) 480-3803


                        JUDITH D. FISHER, VICE CHAIRMAN,
                                LEAVES HUNTINGTON

         Columbus, Ohio - Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ: HBAN;
www.huntington.com) today announced Judith D. Fisher, vice chairman, has elected
to leave the bank to pursue other interests. Ms. Fisher was responsible for the
company's Private Financial Group line of business, institutional sales and
trading, as well as the oversight of investment and funds management.

         Rob Comfort, senior managing director, The Huntington Investment
Company, will assume responsibility for the Private Financial Group. Mr. Comfort
joined The Huntington Investment Company in June 1995 as National Sales Manager
and was promoted to his current position in mid-1997. Under his leadership,
brokerage income has tripled since 1995. Beth Russell, executive vice president,
will continue her responsibilities for investment and funds management. Ms.
Russell has managed this function since 1985. Both Russell and Comfort will
report to Peter Geier, president and chief operating officer.

         Huntington Bancshares is a regional bank holding company headquartered
in Columbus, Ohio with assets of $29 billion. Huntington has more than 134 years
of serving the financial needs of its customers.

         Huntington provides innovative products and services through its more
than 600 offices in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New
Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, and West Virginia. International
banking services are made available through the headquarters office in Columbus
and additional offices located in the Cayman Islands and Hong Kong. Huntington
also offers products and services through its technologically advanced, 24-hour
telephone bank, a network of more than 1,400 ATMs and its Web Bank at
www.huntington.com.

         For faxed copies of current news releases, please call our
fax-on-demand service, Company News on Call, at (800) 758-5804 extension 423276.

             VISIT THE HUNTINGTON'S WEB SITE AT WWW.HUNTINGTON.COM