Sky Financial Group
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Fate | Acquired by Huntington Bancshares in 2008 |
| Headquarters | Bowling Green, Ohio , United States |
Area served | Midwest United States |
| Products | Commercial and retail banking, investment management, trust administration, insurance |
Number of employees | 4,330 (2008) |
Sky Financial Group, Inc. functioned as a diversified financial services holding company in the Midwest from 1998 until its 2008 acquisition by Huntington Bancshares. Its principal subsidiary, Sky Bank, was a commercial and retail banking institution headquartered in Salineville, Ohio, operating 330 branches and more than 400 ATMs throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan, and West Virginia. Additional subsidiaries offered services in investment management, trust administration, and insurance.
Based in Bowling Green, Ohio, Sky Financial Group was established in 1998 through a "merger of equals" between Mid Am, Inc., valued at $2.2 billion and headquartered in Bowling Green, and Citizens Bancshares, Inc., valued at $1.8 billion and based in Salineville. Upon formation, the combined entity held assets totaling $4 billion, ranking it as the 96th largest bank in the United States. By the time Huntington Bancshares acquired it in 2008, Sky Financial Group had expanded to become the 43rd largest U.S. bank holding company with assets exceeding $17.6 billion and a workforce of 4,330 employees.
Huntington acquisition
On December 20, 2006, Sky Financial Group revealed plans to merge with Huntington Bancshares of Columbus, with Huntington as the majority partner. Starting in March 2007, integration efforts commenced including the consolidation of operations and closure of overlapping branches. Key Sky operational hubs in Bowling Green, Toledo, Cleveland, and East Liverpool were shut down alongside the merging of 88 banking offices—approximately one-quarter of Sky’s total locations.
The merger sparked concerns regarding potential economic consequences for local markets served by both banks. Former Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich requested that the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank hold hearings to examine these effects; nevertheless, the Federal Reserve approved the transaction without addressing these issues.
Acquisition and merger history
Prior to its merger with Huntington Bancshares, Sky Financial Group completed fourteen acquisitions and mergers over a nine-year period.
| Date announced | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| August 24, 2006 | Wells River Bancorp | Owned Perpetual Savings, a $74.7 million bank with three branches located in Columbiana County, Ohio. |
| August 9, 2006 | Waterfield Mortgage Company | Operated Union Federal, a $2.5 billion bank featuring 42 branches across Indiana; ranked as the fourth largest bank in Indianapolis, Indiana. |
| June 21, 2005 | Falls Bank | An $83.6 million bank with two full-service branches serving the Akron, Ohio market. |
| December 22, 2004 | Belmont Bancorp | Controlled $297 million in assets with twelve branches around Wheeling, West Virginia. Following acquisition, Sky’s branch network reached 280 locations. |
| September 17, 2004 | Prospect Bancshares | Held $202 million in assets with four branches situated near Columbus, Ohio. |
| January 8, 2004 | Second Bancorp | Managed $2.1 billion in assets with thirty-three branches serving the Warren, Ohio region. This acquisition brought Sky’s assets close to $15 billion and increased office count beyond 260. |
| July 16, 2003 | GLB Bancorp | Owned Great Lakes Bank which operated thirteen branches within Lake County, Ohio and Cuyahoga County, Ohio. |
| October 24, 2002 | Metropolitan Financial Corp. | A $1.5 billion bank maintaining thirty offices around Cleveland, Ohio. At this point Sky operated 254 centers with assets totaling $12.5 billion and ranked as the fifty-fourth largest U.S. bank holding company. |
| May 5, 2002 | Three Rivers Bancorp | A commercial bank valued at $1 billion with twenty-five offices serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. |
| July 11, 2001 | Standard Federal Bank | Acquired ten offices located in northwest Ohio; Sky held the second-largest market share in Wood County, Ohio and Lucas County, Ohio, totaling two hundred five centers. |
| June 7, 1999 | Mahoning National Bancorp | An $809 million holding company based in Youngstown, Ohio, operating twenty offices across Mahoning County, Ohio and Trumbull County, Ohio. This acquisition expanded Sky’s assets to $7.7 billion and positioned it as the sixty-sixth largest U.S. bank holding company. |
| December 17, 1998 | Wood Bancorp | Managed First Federal Bank which had seven branches and assets amounting to $166 million within Wood County, Ohio. |
| December 14, 1998 | First Western Bancorp | A holding company valued at $2.2 billion headquartered in New Castle, Pennsylvania. This deal elevated Sky’s total assets to approximately $7 billion with two hundred ten banking centers. |
| July 22, 1998 | The Ohio Bank | Controlled more than $600 million in assets with eighteen branches; was the leading market bank within Hancock County, Ohio and Putnam County, Ohio. |
| May 22, 1998 | Mid Am and Citizens Bancshares | A merger of equals between Mid Am ($2.2 billion) and Citizens ($1.8 billion) resulted in a combined institution featuring one hundred forty-four branches and over two thousand three hundred employees. |