Huntington National Bank Offers $830 Million Deal, TALF Eligible

Huntington National Bank is in the market with an $830 million bond deal that is eligible for funding under the Federal Reserve's program to jumpstart the consumer lending market.

Huntington's deal, backed by prime auto loans, is due to price later this week, according to a person familiar with the deal.

This is the third deal announced since Tuesday that investors can buy using funds from the Fed's Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, or TALF.

Earlier Wednesday, Ford Motor Credit Co. issued a $2.954 billion deal backed by auto receivables. On Tuesday, auto maker Nissan (NSANY) said it will sell $1.5 billion of bonds backed by auto receivables.

The Fed's $200 billion program, for which the central bank began accepting applications Tuesday, is geared toward encouraging issuance in the market of consumer loan-backed securities. This market dried up during the financial upheaval that began last fall.

The application deadline for the first round of financing through TALF is Thursday, with disbursement funds due March 25.

Market participants expect more bond issuance in the coming weeks.

-By Anusha Shrivastava, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2371; [e-mail]

(Liz Rappaport of The Wall Street Journal contributed to this story)