Huntington Bank’s Commercial Chief Explains Why Carolinas Expansion Is Exceeding Targets
By Symone Graham – Staff Writer, Charlotte Business Journal
Huntington National Bank (NASDAQ: HBAN) picked Charlotte to test its boldest expansion bet, and this week its commercial banking chief explained why it’s working.
Scott Kleinman, president of Huntington’s commercial bank, met with the Charlotte Business Journal Aug. 6 at the bank’s flagship corporate office at 101 S. Tryon St. He was joined by Heath Campbell, Huntington’s executive managing director of middle market banking for the Southeast. The two laid out why the Columbus, Ohio-based bank keeps investing in Charlotte, even as client caution grows and the outlook on interest rates shifts.
“At the beginning of the year, the expectation was that there would be several interest rate cuts,” Kleinman said. “It now looks like the most likely path will be interest rate hikes.”
Kleinman said Huntington’s job in that environment is to help clients manage the uncertainty. He said the bank works with businesses to structure debt and evaluate risks tied to interest rates, foreign exchange rates and commodity prices.
Kleinman named a sharply higher rate environment as the biggest risk he sees to the broader economy right now. He tied that risk to the federal government’s need to sell more debt.
“If interest rates move higher because we have fiscal imbalances, we have to sell more and more debt, that can be very damaging,” he said. “The risk of a substantially higher interest rate environment would be damaging to most businesses. That would be the one thing that I think could derail the economy very quickly.”
Huntington entered the Carolinas with a single branch a few years ago. The bank has since opened 11 full-service branches across that region, including locations in Charlotte’s SouthPark and South End neighborhoods. Huntington is also establishing a presence in Myers Park and Ballantyne, while exploring a potential branch near Wesley Heights.
Kleinman said the bank has exceeded its own internal targets for the market.
“There’s one every other week across the Carolinas,” Kleinman said of the pace of branch openings. “That’s a sign of our long-term commitment, but also our confidence.”
The bank has committed to opening 55 branches across the Carolinas and hiring 350 employees by 2027.
Kleinman said commercial clients have stayed more resilient than he expected given the events of the past year. He said clients are still funding strategic growth projects over just routine maintenance costs.
Campbell described a similar mood among Huntington’s middle market clients in the Carolinas. He pointed to tariff uncertainty and rising costs as concerns weighing on business leaders.
“I would describe it as the demand is still reasonably healthy and very optimistic,” Campbell said.
Campbell joined Huntington in 2023 after two decades at Truist Financial Corp. (NYSE: TFC). He said Huntington’s approach centers on pairing national resources with local relationships, rather than choosing between the two.
“Our goal is never to sell anything or pitch ideas,” Campbell said. “Our goal is to be prepared, ask thought-provoking questions, so we can help our customers.”
Kleinman said Huntington entered the Carolinas in 2023 because market disruption created an opening. He said the bank recruited local bankers with long-standing client relationships already in place.
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