UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

 

FORM 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported):  May 25, 2021

 

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

 

41 South High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43287

(Address of Principal Executive Offices, and Zip Code)

 

(614) 480-2265

Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code

 

Not Applicable

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

 

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (17 CFR §230.405) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR §240.12b-2).

Emerging growth company ☐

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

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On May 25, 2021, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve Board”) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, with input from the United States Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (the “DOJ”), approved the applications of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (“Huntington”) with respect to the previously announced merger (the “Merger”) of Huntington and TCF Financial Corporation (“TCF”) pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”), dated as of December 13, 2020, by and between Huntington and TCF, and the merger of TCF National Bank, TCF’s wholly-owned banking subsidiary, and The Huntington National Bank, Huntington’s wholly-owned banking subsidiary (the “Bank Merger,” and together with the Merger, the “Mergers”). Pursuant to commitments made to the Federal Reserve Board and the DOJ in connection with the approvals, TCF National Bank has entered into a definitive purchase and assumption agreement with Horizon Bank, the wholly-owned banking subsidiary of Horizon Bancorp, Inc., providing for the divestiture of 14 branches of TCF National Bank to Horizon Bank (the “Divestiture”).

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

This communication may contain certain forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, certain plans, expectations, goals, projections, and statements about the benefits of the proposed transaction, the plans, objectives, expectations and intentions of Huntington and TCF, the expected timing of completion of the transaction, and other statements that are not historical facts.  Such statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties.  Statements that do not describe historical or current facts, including statements about beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as expect, anticipate, believe, intend, estimate, plan, target, goal, or similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as will, may, might, should, would, could, or similar variations.  The forward-looking statements are intended to be subject to the safe harbor provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

 

While there is no assurance that any list of risks and uncertainties or risk factors is complete, below are certain factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained or implied in the forward-looking statements:  changes in general economic, political, or industry conditions; the magnitude and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the global economy and financial market conditions and our business, results of operations, and financial condition; uncertainty in U.S. fiscal and monetary policy, including the interest rate policies of the Federal Reserve Board; volatility and disruptions in global capital and credit markets; movements in interest rates; reform of LIBOR; competitive pressures on product pricing and services; success, impact, and timing of our business strategies, including market acceptance of any new products or services including those implementing our “Fair Play” banking philosophy; the nature, extent, timing, and results of governmental actions, examinations, reviews, reforms, regulations, and interpretations, including those related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Basel III regulatory capital reforms, as well as those involving the OCC, Federal Reserve, FDIC, and CFPB; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the right of one or both of the parties to terminate the merger agreement between Huntington and TCF; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Huntington or TCF; delays in completing the merger; the failure of the closing conditions in the merger agreement to be satisfied on a timely basis or at all; the possibility that the anticipated benefits of the merger are not realized when expected or at all, including as a result of the impact of, or problems arising from, the integration of the two companies or as a result of the strength of the economy and competitive factors in the areas where Huntington and TCF do business; the possibility that the merger may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events; diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities; potential adverse reactions or changes to business or employee relationships, including those resulting from the announcement or completion of the merger; the ability to complete the merger and integration of Huntington and TCF successfully; the dilution caused by Huntington’s issuance of additional shares of its capital stock in connection with the merger; the possibility that the proposed branch divestiture will not close when expected or at all because required regulatory approvals are not received or other conditions to the closing are not satisfied on a timely basis or at all; the possibility that the branch divestiture may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events; diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities; potential adverse reactions or changes to business or employee relationships, including those resulting from the announcement or completion of the branch divestiture; and other factors that may affect the future results of Huntington and TCF.  Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described above can be found in Huntington’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and in its subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, including for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, each of which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and available in the “Investor Relations” section of Huntington’s website, http://www.huntington.com, under the heading “Publications and Filings” and in other documents Huntington files with the SEC, and in TCF’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and in its subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, including for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, each of which is on file with the SEC and available on TCF’s investor relations website, ir.tcfbank.com, under the heading “Financial Information” and in other documents TCF files with the SEC.

 

All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and are based on information available at that time.  Neither Huntington nor TCF assumes any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements were made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events except as required by federal securities laws.  As forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, caution should be exercised against placing undue reliance on such statements.

 

 

(d) Exhibits.

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

 

Date:  May 25, 2021

 

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