Good morning. Huntington Bancshares Inc. is marking its 160th year by showing that traditional branch banking and digital growth can advance together, not at each other’s expense.
Founded in 1866, Huntington (No. 351 on the Fortune 500) operates more than 1,000 branches nationwide and is leaning into expansion. CFO Zachary Wasserman described 2026 as a “major” strategic year, with a focus on integrating recent partnerships while keeping core businesses growing faster than the industry.
A visible piece of that strategy is the Southeast build-out. “Our expectation is opening one branch almost every two weeks this year in North Carolina and South Carolina,” Wasserman said.
Huntington opened five branches across the two states in 2025 and plans roughly 24 more this year, putting it on track for about 55 locations by the end of 2027. Beyond physical expansion, the bank views each new branch as a talent opportunity. “We’re putting a major organizational focus around this, and the results have been encouraging,” Wasserman said.
The rollout has been supported by heavy pre-launch marketing, with many branches surpassing full-year deposit targets before opening, he added.
At the same time, Huntington has become increasingly digital-first in new customer acquisition. The bank now brings in more customers digitally than through branches—an approach Wasserman described as “very unusual” for an institution of its size. Most new relationships now begin online, even if customers later turn to branches for more complex needs.
Crucially, the digital and physical footprints overlap. About 80% of new digital customers live within five miles of a Huntington branch, underscoring that local presence still matters even when accounts are opened online, Wasserman said. The bank is using that proximity to deepen relationships and drive growth in higher-value businesses such as commercial payments, wealth management and capital markets, he said.
Huntington reported on Thursday solid fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results, driven by loan and deposit growth, higher fee income, improving margins and strong credit quality. Fourth-quarter EPS was $0.30, or $0.37 on an adjusted basis, up 9% year over year and ahead of estimates. Goldman Sachs reiterated its buy rating and $21 price target on the stock following what it called a “decent quarter and mixed outlook.”
Behind the branch and digital push is a broader integration agenda. Wasserman said Huntington is “well down the track” on integrating two recently announced bank partnerships—its merger with Veritex Holdings and a definitive agreement to acquire Cadence Bank. The bank is applying lessons from the Veritex deal, including early leadership decisions and clear communication around systems conversions, to retain employees and customers during transitions.
Wasserman framed Huntington’s strategy as a long-term effort to win market share through steady, multi-year investment rather than stop-start growth cycles. Consistent spending on branches, digital platforms and specialized businesses, he said, is key to fully realizing the benefits of the bank’s expansion over time.
Have a good weekend.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
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“It is going to become increasingly difficult for organizations to control their narrative and influence investors with manual methods alone,” Dymah Paige, a director analyst in the Gartner Finance practice, said in a statement. “To keep pace, CFOs should be considering private AI solutions available on the market today that can help them to spend more of their time and effort on higher impact priorities.”
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