OREANDA-NEWS. Fitch Ratings has affirmed Huntington Bancshares, Inc.'s (HBAN) ratings at 'A-/F1'. The Rating Outlook remains Stable.

The rating action follows a periodic review of the large regional banking group, which includes BB&T Corporation (BBT), Capital One Finance Corporation (COF), Comerica Incorporated (CMA), Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), Huntington Bancshares Inc. (HBAN), Keycorp (KEY), M&T Bank Corporation (MTB), PNC Financial Services Group (PNC), Regions Financial Corporation (RF), SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI), US Bancorp (USB), UnionBanCal Corporation (UBC), Wells Fargo & Company (WFC), and Zions Bancorporation (ZION).

Company-specific rating rationales for the other banks are published separately, and for further discussion of the large regional bank sector in general, refer to the special report titled 'Large Regional Bank Periodic Review,' to be published shortly.

KEY RATING DRIVERS
IDRS, VRs AND SENIOR DEBT

Fitch's affirmation and Outlook of HBAN's Issuer Default Rating (IDR) is supported by the company's solid financial profile, including good earnings trajectory, improved funding profile and stable asset quality performance, which is in-line with 'A-' rated large regional peers.

Fitch also believes many of these trends are sustainable, particularly given the company's good loan growth, its recent acquisition of Macquarie Equipment Finance which brings higher-yielding loans onto the balance sheet and stable credit performance.

Despite a challenging operating environment, HBAN earnings have been solid with return on assets (ROA) of 1.16% for the second quarter of 2015 (2Q15) compared to the 0.96% peer group average. Further, on average, net interest margin (NIM) compression has been more manageable versus peers.

Over the last two years, HBAN has been focused on growing its retail deposit base with much success reflected by the increase in non-interest bearing deposits which accounts for 28%. Nonetheless, similarly to peers, Fitch expects HBAN to experience a manageable level of deposit run-offs.

HBAN has continued to experience loan growth that is above the peer average, although much less than the previous year. Of note, much of the growth has come from auto lending and acquisitions that increased C&I loans. To-date, credit performance has remained stable. Nonetheless, Fitch remains cautious regarding C&I lending across the industry which remains very competitive.

Additionally, HBAN has a sizeable indirect auto business, which is also an area that has become more competitive. However, HBAN has a long, established history of indirect auto lending with strong asset quality measures through various credit downturns. The company has continued to originate the same borrower base with minimal changes to its underwriting practices.

Nonetheless, Fitch believes there could be a potential disruption to the current business model given the CFPB's focus on the indirect auto space and practices relating to mark up pricing for dealer relationships.

Although HBAN's capital position has been trending down given acquisitions, loan growth and its modest dividend payout ratio, Fitch considers capital levels to be adequate given HBAN's improvements its risk profile. Further, under the 2015 DFAST severely adverse stress scenarios, HBAN's capital position declined much less than almost all of its peers. Further, in terms of loan losses, HBAN had the lowest level of estimated loan losses under the severely adverse scenario.

SUPPORT RATING AND SUPPORT RATING FLOOR

HBAN has a Support Rating of '5' and Support Rating Floor of 'NF'. In Fitch's view, HBAN is not systemically important and therefore, the probability of support is unlikely. IDRs and VRs do not incorporate any support.

SUBORDINATED DEBT AND OTHER HYBRID SECURITIES

HBAN's subordinated debt is notched one below its VR of 'A-'. The company's trust preferred securities are notched four below the VR reflecting two notches down for loss severity and two notches down for non-performance. HBAN's preferred securities are rated five notches below its VR. Preferred stock is notched two times from the VR for loss severity, and three times for non-performance.

Subordinated debt and other hybrid securities ratings are in accordance with Fitch's criteria and assessment of the instruments' non-performance and loss severity risk profiles. Thus, these ratings have been affirmed due to the affirmation of the VR.

HOLDING COMPANY

HBAN's IDR and VR are equalized with those of its operating companies and banks, reflecting its role as the bank holding company, which is mandated in the U.S. to act as a source of strength for its bank subsidiaries. Ratings are also equalized reflecting the very close correlation between holding company and subsidiary default probabilities.

SUBSIDIARY AND AFFILIATED COMPANY

The IDRs and VRs of HBAN's bank subsidiaries benefit from the cross-guarantee mechanism in the U.S. under FIRREA, and therefore the IDRs and VRs of Huntington National Bank are equalized across the group.

LONG- AND SHORT-TERM DEPOSIT RATINGS

HBAN's uninsured deposit ratings are rated one notch higher than the company's IDR and senior unsecured debt because U.S. uninsured deposits benefit from depositor preference. U.S. depositor preference gives deposit liabilities superior recovery prospects in the event of default.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

IDR, VR, AND SENIOR DEBT
Fitch believes HBAN's ratings do not have ratings upside given that performance is in-line with similarly rated peers, coupled with its loan growth and capital position.

Although not expected, should HBAN's performance fall below current levels such as ROA and NIM for an extended period or credit measures deviate from its normalized ranges of 35 basis points (bps) to 55bps, ratings would come under pressure.

Additionally, aggressive capital management would also be viewed negatively. As of June 30, 2015, HBAN's TCE and CET1 ratio stood at 7.91% and 9.65%, respectively. Should these measures continue to substantially decline coupled with an increase to the company's risk profile, ratings could be pressured.

SUPPORT RATING AND SUPPORT RATING FLOOR
HBAN's Support Rating and Support Rating Floor are sensitive to Fitch's assumption around capacity to procure extraordinary support in case of need.

SUBORDINATED DEBT AND OTHER HYBRID SECURITIES

The ratings of subordinated debt and other hybrid capital issued by HBAN and its subsidiaries are primarily sensitive to any change in HBAN's VR.

HOLDING COMPANY
Should HBAN's holding company begin to exhibit signs of weakness, demonstrate trouble accessing the capital markets, or have inadequate cash flow coverage to meet near-term obligations, there is the potential that Fitch could notch the holding company IDR and VR from the ratings of the operating companies. This is viewed as unlikely though for HBAN given the strength of the holding company liquidity profile.

SUBSIDIARY AND AFFILIATED COMPANY

As the IDRs and VRs of the subsidiaries are equalized with those of HBAN to reflect support from their ultimate parent, they are sensitive to changes in the parent's propensity to provide support, which Fitch currently does not expect, or from changes in HBAN's IDRs.

LONG- AND SHORT-TERM DEPOSIT RATINGS

The ratings of long- and short-term deposits issued by HBAN and its subsidiaries are primarily sensitive to any change in HBAN's long- and short-term IDRs.

Fitch has affirmed the following ratings:

Huntington Bancshares, Incorporated
--Long-term IDR at 'A-'; Outlook Stable;
--Short-term IDR at 'F1';
--Viability rating at 'a-';
--Senior Unsecured at 'A-';
--Subordinated debt at 'BBB+';
--Preferred stock at 'BB'.
--Support at '5';
--Support Floor at 'NF'.

Huntington National Bank
--Long-term deposits at 'A';
--Long-term IDR at 'A-'; Outlook Stable;
--Viability rating at 'a-';
--Senior unsecured at 'A-';
--Subordinated debt at 'BBB+';
--Short-term IDR at 'F1';
--Short-term deposits at 'F1';
--Support at5';
--Support Floor at 'NF'.

Huntington Capital I, II
--Preferred stock at 'BB+'.

Sky Financial Capital Trust I-IV
--Preferred stock at 'BB+'.