Agreement to merge Huntington Bankshare DCF Financial Company

In total, the banks will have approximately $ 170 billion in assets, with a network of branches extending from Pennsylvania to Arizona and especially concentrated in the Midwestern states such as Illinois and Michigan.

“This connection is a great opportunity; It improves both of us, ”Huntington CEO Steve Steinor said in an interview. “We can do things together that we both can’t do independently.”

If the deal goes through, Huntington will be overtaken by its fierce state rivals Fifth Third Bancorp FIDP. -1.58%

And key Corp.

KEY -1.49%

It has assets of about $ 200 billion and $ 170 billion, respectively.

DCF’s nine-state network will add about 475 new branches and five states without a physical reserve to Huntington. Huntington’s 839 branches are spread across seven states.

The integrated company will have two headquarters – one for its large business division in Detroit and one for its consumer business in Columbus. Steinour said. He will be the CEO, while Gary Torco, the DFC’s CEO, will be the chairman. Negotiations between men who have known each other for decades began in October and progressed rapidly, Mr. Steinor said.

Huntington became known as the Acquisition Hound. It acquired First Merit Corp, a fellow Ohio bank, in a deal in 2016, which significantly strengthened its Midwest presence. Dealing with DCF production is also not new. The merger comes two years after the contract with Chemical Financial Corporation expired, which has doubled in size.

Banking deals have accelerated this year, especially among regional banks, which are expected to compete better with major competitors such as JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America. Corp.

Large national banks are expanding into areas that were once dominated by regional banks, including customers, to create smaller applications with smaller budgets and support wider branches. Integration allows banks to eliminate reciprocal costs for things like regulatory compliance and digital investment.

Low interest rates are particularly difficult for regional banks, which rely more heavily on lending than their larger counterparts. The net interest rate, or the difference between what a bank pays to its depositors and what it earns by lending, reached record levels for commercial banks in the third quarter.

First Citizens Bangshare Inc.

CIT agreed to buy the group Inc.

It will create a bank with assets of about $ 100 billion in a deal in October. In November, the BNC Financial Services Group Inc.

Spain has agreed to buy the US hand of BPVA for $ 11.6 billion, making it the fifth largest U.S. retail bank with assets of more than $ 550 billion.

The two major regional banks, BP & T and Sun Trust, merged last year to form the True Financial Corporation, the largest banking agreement to impose stricter terms after the financial crisis.

Write Cara Lombardo at [email protected] and Arla McCaffrey at [email protected]