Who is first merit bank

#|

The company was based in Akron Ohio. The bank had more than banking locations and also had ATMs. These were located in five states:. Another branches that were in close proximity to each other or other Huntington branches were also shut down. Some of the predecessors of FirstMerit Bank had histories that went as far back as The bank would also acquire Exchange Bank in Canal Fulton.

In the nine years that followed, First Ohio continued its expansion, buying many bank branches within Ohio. Around the same time, the bank would purchase 32 other branches in Ohio and Pennsylvania. In the years that followed, FirstMerit would continue its expansion by making a number of significant acquisitions including:.

The building goes by other names including:. Huntington Tower is relatively old with construction having been completed in However, it still remains the tallest building in the city to date. Huntington is one of the nation's largest small-business lenders, is a big player in home mortgages and auto lending, and is known its "fair-play" approach to consumers by giving customers 24 hours to cover overdrafts without incurring a fee.

In a news release this morning, the two banks said the partnership is bringing together two strong companies that have served their respective communities for more than years. Huntington last week reported record profits for , fueled by increases in revenue, deposits and loans.

FirstMerit on Tuesday announced another profitable quarter, marking nearly 17 years of managing to turn a profit every quarter, even during recessions. How big will the new Huntington be in Northeast Ohio?

Huntington has 88 branches in Greater Cleveland and FirstMerit has The combination of -- if they all remained open -- would equal the number of branches that Key and PNC have. In addition, each bank has 28 branches in Akron; if all of them remained open, Huntington would have as many branches as Chase, PNC and Key combined. This will be Huntington's first major acquisition since it bought SkyBank in The merger will move Huntington from the 33rd-largest bank up to the top Huntington's Steinour is only two years younger, at Greig is expected to remain at Huntington as a consultant, perhaps for a couple of years.

A major merger like this in Ohio has been romanticized for more than a decade. Analysts predicted that -- among Key, Fifth Third, Huntington and FirstMerit -- two of them would have to join together at some point. Increasingly, the huge size of Key and Fifth Third made it unlikely they would buy another large Ohio bank.

FirstMerit is Akron's largest bank, with more than 28 percent of the region's deposits. Huntington is Akron's fifth-largest bank. After buying three smaller Chicago-area banks from , there was buzz that FirstMerit wanted to relocate its headquarters to Chicago. FirstMerit's oldest branch, located in Medina, dates back to It was known for decades as First National Bank of Akron.

It changed its name to FirstMerit in as it went on a big buying spree. Huntington, founded in , has been growing aggressively since the day Steinour became CEO in Among its bold moves, Huntington in announced plans to open branches in Giant Eagle supermarkets statewide, giving Huntington more branches in Ohio than any other bank. Pending regulatory approval, the purchase is expected to close in the third quarter and add to Huntington's profits in