Sky Financial Group, Inc., was a diversified financial services holding company that operated in the Midwestern United States

Midwestern United States

The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....

 from 1998 until its 2007 acquisition by rival bank Huntington Bancshares

Huntington Bancshares

Huntington Bancshares, Inc., is a US$53 billion Midwestern bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. It is the 24th largest American bank. As of October 22, 2008, it was listed on the S&P 500...

. Its largest subsidiary was Sky Bank, a commercial

Commercial bank

After the implementation of the Glass–Steagall Act, the U.S. Congress required that banks engage only in banking activities, whereas investment banks were limited to capital market activities. As the two no longer have to be under separate ownership under U.S...

 and retail banking

Retail banking

Retail banking is banking in which banking institutions execute transactions directly with consumers, rather than corporations or other banks. Services offered include: savings and transactional accounts, mortgages, personal loans, debit cards, credit cards, and so forth.-Types of...

 company headquartered in Salineville, Ohio

Salineville, Ohio

Salineville is a village in southwestern Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,397 at the 2000 census.The Civil War Battle of Salineville, which ended Morgan's Raid and resulted in the capture of Confederate General John Hunt Morgan, took place near Salineville on July 26,...

, that operated 330 financial centers

Branch (banking)

A branch, banking center or financial center is a retail location where a bank, credit union, or other financial institution offers a wide array of face-to-face and automated services to its customers....

 and over 400 ATMs

Automated teller machine

An automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...

 in Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 and West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

. Other wholly owned subsidiaries included investment, trust, and insurance services.

Sky Financial Group was headquartered in Bowling Green

Bowling Green, Ohio

Bowling Green is the county seat of Wood County in the U.S. state of Ohio. At the time of the 2010 census, the population of Bowling Green was 30,028. It is part of the Toledo, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bowling Green is the home of Bowling Green State University...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, 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

Banking in the United States

Banking in the United States is regulated by both the federal and state governments.The U.S. banking sector's short-term liabilities as of October 11, 2008 are 15% of the gross domestic product of the United States or 43% of its national debt, and the average bank leverage ratio is 12 to...

. At the time of its 2007 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

Huntington Bancshares

Huntington Bancshares, Inc., is a US$53 billion Midwestern bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. It is the 24th largest American bank. As of October 22, 2008, it was listed on the S&P 500...

, based out of Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

, would be taking over the company. This is also considered a merge between the two companies, with Huntington Bancshares taking the upper-hand.
Beginning in March, Sky and Huntington began consolidating and closing redundant offices. Once complete, Sky's major operations centers

Back office

A back office is a part of most corporations where tasks dedicated to running the company itself takes place. The term "Back office" comes from the building layout of early companies where the front office would contain the sales and other customer-facing staff and the back office would be those...

 in Bowling Green, Ohio, Toledo, Ohio

Toledo, Ohio

Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...

, Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

, and East Liverpool, Ohio

East Liverpool, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,089 people, 5,261 households, and 3,424 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,010.3 people per square mile . There were 5,743 housing units at an average density of 1,320.8 per square mile...

, will be closed. Additionally, 88 banking centers (about 25% of Sky's total footprint) will be consolidated. Sky Bank's abandonment of these markets have left gaping holes in the communities they once served. Several have questioned the impact on local economy this merger will have on the communities where Sky and Huntington co-exist, including Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich

Dennis Kucinich

Dennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....

 (D-Cleveland). Congressman Kucinich had asked the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank to hold hearings concerning the Sky-Huntington merger, however, 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.

Date announced	Company	Notes
2006-08-24	Wells River Bancorp	Wells River Bancorp operated Perpetual Savings, a $74.7 million bank with 3 offices in Columbiana County, Ohio Columbiana County, Ohio Columbiana County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of 2010, the population was 107,841. It is named for Christopher Columbus and the county seat is Lisbon.... .
2006-08-09	Waterfield Mortgage Company	Waterfield Mortgage operated Union Federal, a $2.5 billion bank with 42 branches in Indiana. Union Federal Bank was the fourth largest bank in Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S... .
2005-06-21	Falls Bank	Falls Bank was an $83.6 million bank that operated two full-service branches in the Akron, Ohio Akron, Ohio Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...  market.
2004-12-22	Belmont Bancorp	Belmont had $297 million in assets and 12 branches in the Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...  area. Sky now has 280 branches.
2004-09-17	Prospect Bancshares	Prospect had $202 million in assets and four branches in the Columbus, Ohio Columbus, Ohio Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...  area.
2004-01-08	Second Bancorp	Second was $2.1 billion in assets and operated 33 branches in the Warren, Ohio Warren, Ohio As of the census of 2000, there were 46,832 people, 19,288 households and 12,035 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,912.4 people per square mile . There were 21,279 housing units at an average density of 1,322.9 per square mile...  area. Sky now has nearly $15 billion in assets and over 260 offices.
2003-07-16	GLB Bancorp	GLB Bancorp operated Great Lakes Bank, with 13 branches in Lake Lake County, Ohio Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of 2010, the population was 230,041. The county seat is Painesville, and the county name comes from its location on the southern shore of Lake Erie....  and Cuyahoga Cuyahoga County, Ohio Cuyahoga County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. It is the most populous county in Ohio; as of the 2010 census, the population was 1,280,122. Its county seat is Cleveland. Cuyahoga County is part of Greater Cleveland, a metropolitan area, and Northeast Ohio, a...  counties.
2002-10-24	Metropolitan Financial Corp.	Metropolitan Bank was a $1.5 billion bank that operated 30 offices in the Cleveland Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...  area. Sky now has 254 financial centers and $12.5 billion in assets, making it the 54th largest bank holding company in the country.
2002-05-07	Three Rivers Bancorp	Three Rivers was a $1 billion commercial bank with 25 offices in the metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...  area.
2001-07-11	Standard Federal Bank Standard Federal Bank Standard Federal Bank was a Troy, Michigan-based bank serving Michigan and Northern Indiana which began doing business as Bank of America on 5 May 2008....	Standard Federal Bank sold ten northwest Ohio offices. Sky now has 205 financial centers and has #2 market share in Wood Wood County, Ohio Wood County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 125,488. Its county seat is Bowling Green. The county was named for Captain Eleazer D. Wood, the engineer for General William Henry Harrison's army, who built Fort Meigs in the War of 1812...  and Lucas Lucas County, Ohio ----...  counties.
1999-06-07	Mahoning National Bancorp	Mahoning National was a $809 million bank holding company headquartered in Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...  that operated 20 banking offices in Mahoning and Trumbull Trumbull County, Ohio As of the census of 2000, there were 225,116 people, 89,020 households, and 61,690 families residing in the county. The population density was 365 people per square mile . There were 95,117 housing units at an average density of 154 per square mile...  counties. Sky Financial now has $7.7 billion in assets and ranked 66th largest bank holding company in America.
1998-12-17	Wood Bancorp	Wood Bancorp operated First Federal Bank, a $166 million federal savings bank with seven offices in Wood County, Ohio.
1998-12-14	First Western Bancorp	First Western was a $2.2 billion bank holding company headquartered in New Castle, Pennsylvania New Castle, Pennsylvania New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, northwest of Pittsburgh and near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border just east of Youngstown, Ohio; in 1910, the total population was 36,280; in 1920, 44,938; and in 1940, 47,638. The population has fallen to 26,309 according to the... . Sky Financial now a $7 billion financial services organization with 210 banking centers.
1998-07-22	The Ohio Bank	The Ohio bank had over $600 million in assets and operated 18 branches with 250 employees. It was the number one market share holder in Hancock Hancock County, Ohio Hancock County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 74,782. Its county seat is Findlay and was named for John Hancock, the first signer of the Declaration of Independence...  and Putnam Putnam County, Ohio Putnam County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 34,499. The name is in honor of Israel Putnam, who was a hero in the French and Indian War and a general in the American Revolutionary War. Its county seat is... counties.
1998-05-22	Mid Am and Citizens Bancshares	Merger of equals between the $2.2 billion Mid Am, Inc. and the $1.8 billion Citizens, Inc. resulting in a combined bank with 144 branches and over 2,300 employees.