Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Chairman and CEO Steve Steinour said the bank remains focused on sustaining organic growth while integrating two recent acquisitions, telling investors that the company is on track to deliver cost savings, revenue synergies and higher returns over the next several years.
Speaking at a Sanford C. Bernstein and Autonomous investor event in a fireside chat moderated by Ken Usdin, the large-cap banks analyst at Autonomous, Steinour described Huntington as a $285 billion-asset “super-regional” bank with a growing national presence and a relationship-based operating model.
2027 Targets Reaffirmed
Steinour reiterated Huntington’s medium-term financial goals, saying the company is projecting 30% earnings-per-share growth in 2027 relative to 2025, a return on tangible common equity of 18% to 19%, and tangible book value per share growth of more than 10%.
Later in the discussion, Steinour said he felt “really good” about Huntington reaching the $1.90 to $1.92 EPS range it has committed to for 2027, citing multiple growth levers, cost savings and revenue momentum following its deal integrations.
“We have a lot of levers,” Steinour said. “We’re off to a very good start.”
Veritex and Cadence Integrations in Focus
Steinour said investors have questioned whether Huntington can maintain organic growth while integrating Veritex and Cadence. He said Huntington has already converted Veritex and is about three weeks away from the Cadence conversion.
On costs, Steinour said Huntington has achieved a 70% expense takeout at Veritex and expects to achieve $365 million of expense savings at Cadence. He said the company expects to show $435 million of expense reductions by the fourth quarter.
Huntington is also targeting $500 million of incremental revenue synergies over three years. Steinour said the first-year target of $50 million to $75 million is effectively secured, citing early progress in capital markets, merchant services and digital consumer acquisition in the South.
He said Huntington’s digital capabilities launched in the South in April and are producing about 10 times the consumer customer acquisition rate that Cadence averaged historically, before brand changes, signage changes or a broader marketing campaign.
Growth Plans Extend Across Texas, the South and Specialty Verticals
Steinour said Huntington has several growth drivers beyond the acquisitions. Since 2023, the company has opened eight new specialty verticals in commercial banking, which he said contributed about 30% of loan growth in the first quarter and remain far from maturity.
The bank is also expanding de novo in North Carolina and South Carolina. Steinour said Huntington has eight branches open and is opening a branch every other week, with plans to build out 55 branches across this year and next.
In Texas, Steinour said Huntington has a 5% share in Dallas, a 5% share in Houston and an 8% share statewide after the Veritex and Cadence combinations. He also pointed to markets including Atlanta, Tampa, Orlando, Nashville and Birmingham, as well as a No. 1 share in Mississippi.
Steinour said the bank’s national businesses, including equipment finance, distribution finance, SBA lending, payments, wealth and capital markets, provide opportunities to deepen relationships in the newly expanded footprint.
Deposits, Liquidity and Credit
Steinour said Huntington expects to continue growing deposits despite a higher-for-longer rate environment. He cited first-quarter deposit growth of 4% in consumer banking, 7% in business banking and 6% in commercial banking.
He also said two of the bank’s eight new specialty verticals are deposit-oriented and national in scale. Huntington plans to bring broader treasury management, commercial card, merchant services and digital capabilities to acquired customer bases that he said did not previously have the same level of cross-sell orientation.
Steinour emphasized Huntington’s liquidity position, saying its ratio of insured to total deposits is 69% and its unmodified liquidity coverage ratio is 118%. He said the company added liquidity because of geopolitical concerns, not because of concerns about its own business.
On credit, Steinour said the portfolio remains in good shape, though lower- and moderate-income consumers have faced pressure from energy and food inflation. He said Huntington’s consumer portfolio is more than 90% secured and that losses would be more closely tied to unemployment, which remains low by historical standards.
He noted one area of headline pressure could come from a small FHA portfolio after the suspension of post-pandemic support, but said that portfolio is government guaranteed.
Technology, AI and Regulation
Steinour identified cyber risk as a top competitive and operational concern for the industry. He also described artificial intelligence as both a threat and an opportunity, saying Huntington has spent years improving its data infrastructure and is building agentic tools to standardize adoption.
He said Huntington has been investing to prepare for Category III regulatory requirements and is “substantially good to go” as of this quarter, though he noted that thresholds could be redefined under the current administration.
On capital and liquidity regulation, Steinour said he would like to see Basel III completed and liquidity rules tailored, arguing that some mandatory assumptions, such as no access to the Federal Reserve window for 30 days, “just don’t make sense.”
Steinour closed by saying Huntington is positioned to benefit from organic growth, deal-related efficiencies and emerging opportunities in AI, while maintaining what he described as a moderate-to-low risk appetite.
About Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN)
Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ: HBAN) is a bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, that provides a broad range of banking and financial services through its principal subsidiary, Huntington National Bank. The company’s operations are centered on retail and commercial banking, and it serves individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, and institutional customers.
Huntington’s product offerings include traditional deposit and lending products, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage origination and servicing, auto financing, and business banking solutions.
