Sky Financial Group, Inc., was a diversified
financial services holding company that operated in the
Midwestern United States from 1998 until its 2008 acquisition by rival bank
Huntington Bancshares. Its largest subsidiary was Sky Bank, a
commercial and
retail banking
Retail banking, also known as consumer banking or personal banking, is the provision of services by a bank to the general public, rather than to companies, corporations or other banks, which are often described as wholesale banking. Banking servi ...
company headquartered in
Salineville, Ohio, that operated 330
financial centers and over 400
ATMs in
Ohio,
Pennsylvania,
Indiana,
Michigan and
West Virginia.
Other wholly owned subsidiaries included investment, trust, and insurance services.
Sky Financial Group was headquartered in
Bowling Green,
Ohio, and was formed by the 1998 "merger of equals" of the $2.2 billion Mid Am, Inc., of Bowling Green and the $1.8 billion Citizens Bancshares, Inc., of Salineville.
[
]
The resulting $4 billion company ranked as the 96th largest
American bank
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
.
At the time of its 2008 acquisition by Huntington, Sky Financial Group was the 43rd largest bank holding company in the country with over $17.6 billion in assets.
The company had 4330 employees.
[
]
Huntington acquisition
On December 20, 2006, Sky Financial Group announced that
Huntington Bancshares, based out of
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
, would be taking over the company. This was considered a merger, with Huntington Bancshares taking the upper hand.
[
]
Beginning in March 2007, Sky and Huntington began consolidating and closing redundant offices. When completed, Sky's major
operations centers in Bowling Green, Ohio,
Toledo, Ohio,
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, and
East Liverpool, Ohio, were then closed. Additionally, 88 banking centers (about 25% of Sky's total footprint) were consolidated. Huntington's withdrawal in these markets has resulted in their weakening economically. Several have questioned the impact on local economy this merger will have on the communities where Sky and Huntington co-exist, including former Ohio Congressman
Dennis Kucinich
Dennis John Kucinich (; born October 8, 1946) is an American politician. A U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1997 to 2013, he was also a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States in 2004 and 2008. He ran for ...
(D-Cleveland). Kucinich had asked the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank to hold hearings concerning the Sky-Huntington merger. The Federal Reserve approved the merger without regard to Kucinich's requests.
[
]
Acquisition and merger history
Prior to its merger with Huntington Bancshares, Sky completed fourteen acquisitions and mergers during its nine years of operation.
References
External links
Sky Financial Group
{{Authority control
American companies established in 1998
Banks established in 1998
2007 mergers and acquisitions
Banks based in Ohio
Banks disestablished in 2007
Companies based in Toledo, Ohio
Defunct banks of the United States
Huntington Bancshares