Huntington Bancshares Inc. expanded its subsidiary FirstMerit Corp.’s recreational vehicle and marine business into 34 states this year, up from its prior 17-state footprint, Mac McCullough, Huntington’s chief financial officer, said on the second-quarter earnings call Friday.
“We believe there is an opportunity to expand FirstMerit’s attractive recreational vehicle and marine finance business,” McCullough said. “Nick Stanutz, who is the head of our highly successful auto finance business, runs RV and marine finance with the same discipline, risk management protocols, and — in some cases — technology that he applies to our super-prime auto finance business.”
Huntington has expanded the RV and marine business “and the early results are already exceeding our business plan,” he added. The expansion into new states was primarily in the Southeast.