Huntington Bancshares Incorporated Enters Into Formal Written Agreements With the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and Office o

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated Enters Into Formal Written
Agreements With the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency 


COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 1  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Huntington Bancshares
Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) ( http://www.huntington.com/ ) announced it has
entered into formal written agreements with its banking regulators, the Federal
Reserve Bank of Cleveland and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

These formal written agreements provide for a comprehensive action plan
designed to enhance Huntington's corporate governance, internal audit, risk
management, accounting policies and procedures, and financial and regulatory
reporting.  They call for independent third-party reviews, as well as the
submission of written plans and progress reports by management.  The formal
written agreements remain in effect until terminated by the banking regulators.

"Entering into these formal written agreements is consistent with our
expectations announced last November and in line with steps that we have been
taking to ensure that our corporate governance and controls are best in class,"
said Hoaglin.  "As previously indicated, we have been working extensively with
our banking regulators over the past several months.  While there is work yet
to be done, we have devoted significant resources in order to address the
issues raised.  We are confident that we are on the right path to address fully
and comprehensively all of their concerns in a timely manner. We also believe
that the changes we have made, and are in the process of making, are positive
for our organization and will position us to be a stronger company in the
future."

"No fines or monetary penalties will be assessed against the company as a
result of the bank regulatory actions, and we reaffirm the earnings guidance
provided on January 21, 2005," he concluded.

Securities and Exchange Commission Formal Investigation

As previously announced, Huntington continues to have ongoing discussions with
the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding resolution
of its previously announced formal investigation into certain financial
accounting matters relating to fiscal years 2002 and earlier and certain
related disclosure matters.  It is anticipated that a settlement of this
matter, which is subject to approval by the SEC, will involve the entry of an
order by the SEC requiring Huntington to comply with various provisions of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Securities Act of 1933, along with the
imposition of a civil money penalty.  At year end, the company had reserves
related to the expectation of the imposition of a civil money penalty, which
the company viewed as sufficient given negotiations with the SEC.  However, no
assurances can be made that any assessed penalty may not exceed this amount.

Unizan Financial Acquisition

As announced November 12, 2004, Huntington and Unizan Financial Corp.
(NASDAQ:UNIZ) have entered into an amendment to their January 26, 2004 merger
agreement extending the term of the agreement for one year from January 27,
2005 to January 27, 2006, and Huntington has withdrawn its application with the
Federal Reserve to acquire Unizan.  Huntington intends to resubmit the
application for regulatory approval of the merger once the regulatory concerns
have been resolved.  No assurances, however, can be provided as to the ultimate
timing or outcome of these matters.

Additional Information

The bank regulatory formal written agreements will be filed with the SEC as
exhibits to Huntington's Current Report on Form 8-K.  The Form 8-K can be
accessed at http://www.sec.gov/ or on the investor relations page of
Huntington's web site at http://www.huntington.com/ .  A copy of the Federal
Reserve agreement will be available at http://www.federalreserve.gov/ , and a
copy of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency agreement will be
available at http://www.occ.treas.gov/ .

Forward-looking Statement

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including
certain plans, expectations, goals, and projections, which are subject to
numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties.  A number of factors, including
but not limited to those set forth under the heading "Business Risks" included
in Item 1 of Huntington's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2003, and other factors described from time to time in
Huntington's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, could
cause actual conditions, events, or results to differ significantly from those
described in the forward-looking statements.  All forward-looking statements
included in this news release are based on information available at the time of
the release.  Huntington assumes no obligation to update any forward- looking
statement.

About Huntington

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated is a $33 billion regional bank holding
company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.  Through its affiliated companies,
Huntington has more than 139 years of serving the financial needs of its
customers.  Huntington provides innovative retail and commercial financial
products and services through more than 300 regional banking offices in
Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. Huntington also offers
retail and commercial financial services online at huntington.com; through its
technologically advanced, 24-hour telephone bank; and through its network of
approximately 700 ATMs.  Selected financial service activities are also
conducted in other states including: Dealer Sales offices in Florida, Georgia,
Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Arizona; Private Financial Group offices in
Florida; and Mortgage Banking offices in Florida, Maryland, and New Jersey.
International banking services are made available through the headquarters
office in Columbus and an office located in the Cayman Islands and an office
located in Hong Kong. 

DATASOURCE: Huntington Bancshares Incorporated



CONTACT:  Analysts, Jay Gould, [phone], or Susan Stuart,

[phone], or Media, Jeri Grier-Ball, [phone], all of Huntington

Bancshares Incorporated



Web site:  http://www.huntington.com/ 

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