LOWER LOAN

In terms of new loans, Huntington posted a 2% gain in average loans both from the prior year and quarter. The bank said growth was broad based. But much of the growth was tied to automotives, with consumer loans for autos up 7% from the third quarter and loans to auto dealerships for floor plans making up half the commercial growth.

Huntington posted a profit of $122.9 million, or 5 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $369.7 million, or 56 cents a share. The repurchase of government-rescue capital cut the latest result by 7 cents, while the prior-year period included 9 cents in one-time gains.

Excluding the charge, earnings would have topped the 8 cents a share Wall Street was looking for.

Chief Executive Steve Steinour said Huntington will "break away" from peers this year. But when asked on a conference call about paying dividends or joining an expected wave of consolidation, Steinour said Huntington's board was aware of both trends, but has made no decisions on spending capital.

Meanwhile, at PNC, the Pittsburgh-based lender's fourth-quarter earnings dropped 26% because of a gain in the prior year.

PNC reported a profit of $820 million, or $1.50 a share, down from $1.11 billion, or $2.17 a share, a year earlier. Excluding integration costs in both periods and a prior-year gain related to the BlackRock Inc. (BLK) acquisition of Barclays Global Investors, earnings jumped to $1.60 from 90 cents. Analysts had expected $1.38.

Revenue fell 20% to $3.9 billion but handily topped expectations of $3.55 billion.