Huntington Cites Expected RE-Related Charges

Huntington Bancshares Inc., Columbus, Ohio, has announced that it expects to report higher loan-loss provisions and market-related losses involving real estate credits and mortgage servicing rights for the second quarter.Huntington said it expects to report a $60 million loan-loss provision, including $25 million related to two East Michigan real estate credits and one Northeast Ohio commercial loan that were downgraded to nonperforming status. "The commercial developer and residential real estate homebuilder markets in East Michigan deteriorated during the quarter, reflecting a significant downturn in home sales activity and the inability of homebuilders to sustain sufficient sales activity," Huntington said. The bank holding company also reported a $3 million pretax charge of net market-related losses based on "a combination of hedging ineffectiveness for mortgage servicing rights and investment securities impairment." The company can be found online at http://www.huntington.com.