EXHIBIT 99
Published on January 21, 1997
EXHIBIT 99
NEWSRELEASE [HUNTINGTON BANK LOGO]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
SUBMITTED: JANUARY 15, 1997 JACQUELINE THURSTON (614) 480-3878
HUNTINGTON BANCSHARES REPORTS EARNINGS
FOR FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR 1996
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN;
http://www.huntington.com) today reported earnings per share for the year ended
December 31, 1996 of $1.80 and $.47 for the fourth quarter representing
increases of 11.1% and 4.4%, respectively, over the same periods last year.
Return on average equity (ROE) and return on average assets (ROA) were 17.33%
and 1.31% in the past twelve months, up from 16.27% and 1.28% last year. ROE was
17.87% and ROA was 1.32% for the fourth quarter.
"Huntington enjoyed another successful year in 1996. We are
particularly pleased with the revenue growth in fee based products, the
continued focus on improving efficiencies and overall credit quality," stated
Frank Wobst, chairman and chief executive officer of Huntington Bancshares
Incorporated.
Net income was $262.1 million for the year ended December 31, 1996 and
$67.7 million for the fourth quarter compared with $244.5 million and $65.5
million, respectively, during the corresponding periods in 1995.
Net interest income for the twelve and three months ended December 31,
1996 was $758.8 million and $193.1 million, respectively. The net interest
margin was 4.10% in the recent quarter.
Non-interest income, excluding securities transactions, amounted to
$255.3 million and $62.4 million in the most recent twelve and three month
periods. All major categories remained
strong with exceptional growth in electronic banking fees and investment product
sales during 1996.
Non-interest expense was flat for the twelve and three month periods
just ended compared with the same time one year ago, despite the acquisition of
two Florida banks, which added $11.1 million and $2.5 million to the respective
totals for 1996. The efficiency ratio showed significant improvement dropping to
56.3% and 54.6% for the twelve months and fourth quarter ended compared to 59.0%
and 57.8%, respectively, for the corresponding period last year.
At December 31, 1996, non-performing assets as a percentage of total
loans and other real estate were .47% and the coverage ratio was 394.3%
representing improvements over each of the three preceding quarters which
indicates that asset quality remains strong. At the end of the year,
Huntington's allowance for loan losses (ALL) represented 1.40% of total loans.
Net charge-offs as a percent of average loans were .46% for the twelve month
period.
Huntington's average equity to average assets was 7.55% in the most
recent twelve month period. The company continues to maintain a strong equity
position exceeding requirements for a "well-capitalized" institution. Tier I and
total risk based capital ratios was 7.84% and 11.31%, respectively, at December
31, 1996.
Huntington Bancshares is a regional bank holding company headquartered
in Columbus, Ohio with assets in excess of $20 billion. The company's banking
subsidiaries operate 339 offices in Ohio, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan
and West Virginia. Huntington's mortgage, trust, investment banking, and
automobile finance subsidiaries manage 80 offices in the six states mentioned as
well as Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and
Virginia.
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HUNTINGTON BANCSHARES INCORPORATED
COMPARATIVE SUMMARY (CONSOLIDATED)
(in thousands of dollars, except per share amounts)