Huntington National Bank 2003 Annual Report Download - page 7

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LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS 5
Corporate Governance
We continue to take actions to strengthen corporate governance at Huntington. You will recall that in 2002 many
changes were made to ensure the independence of a majority of the Board of Directors and the full independence of
the Audit/Risk, Compensation, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees. In addition to the quarterly
CEO/CFO financial statement certification process, the Audit/Risk Committee now reviews and approves all
accounting policy changes and reviews all significant quarterly closing accounting entries. We are in full compliance
with recently-adopted NASDAQ listing standards.
This past year saw a number of changes to our board membership. Joining the board at the April 2003 annual meeting
were: Michael J. Endres, principal of Stonehenge Financial Holdings, Inc.; David P. Lauer, CPA and retired Managing
Partner of Deloitte & Touche; and Kathleen H. Ransier, a partner with Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP. Joining
in August was David L. Porteous, an attorney specializing in corporate and municipal law and government relations
and a former director of FMB-Reed City, a subsidiary of First Michigan Bank Corporation, acquired by Huntington
in 1997. These individuals have added greatly to the depth of your board, with each making significant contributions
this past year.
In January 2004, Patricia T. Hayot, former Head of Columbus School for Girls, retired from the board. We are grateful
for her eight years of dedicated service to Huntington. In addition, George A. Skestos, retired Chairman of Homewood
Corporation, and Lewis R. Smoot, Sr., President and CEO of The Smoot Corporation, will both retire from the
board at the 2004 Annual Meeting after nearly ten years of service. Their dedication to Huntington has also been
greatly appreciated. We wish all of them well.
Closing Comments
The theme of this year’s Annual Report is “interfaces.” This embodies the notion that every transaction is a one-on-one
opportunity to help a customer build his or her financial future. Every question asked is a one-on-one opportunity
to show how Huntington as an “essential partner” can make their financial life less complicated and more profitable.
As you read the rest of this Annual Report, you will find more in-depth discussions and examples of the progress we
are making. I hope you will be as pleased and excited as I am that our culture and devotion to improving customer
service are improving every day. Huntington is financially strong, and our earnings momentum continues. Once
again, we are winning.
Thanks for your continued support and encouragement.
Thomas E. Hoaglin
Chairman, President and CEO