Huntington Bancshares is pushing back against claims by a New York consumer-watchdog group that its proposed purchase of Akron-based FirstMerit will harm consumers, especially its plan to close 107 branch offices.

Huntington Bancshares is pushing back against claims by a New York consumer-watchdog group that its proposed purchase of Akron-based FirstMerit will harm consumers, especially its plan to close 107 branch offices.

�Any limited inconvenience caused by the consolidations and closings in connection with the proposed transaction should be weighed against the significant benefits that the proposed transaction will bring to the customers of FirstMerit Bank and Huntington Bank and to the communities they serve,� the bank said in a regulatory filing last week in response to objections by Inner City Press/Fair Finance Watch.

Huntington announced in January that it would buy FirstMerit for $3.4 billion. The deal would create a bank with about 1,100 offices in Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

This month, the bank announced that it would close 107 of those offices, many of them in northeastern Ohio and around Detroit, as part of $2 billion in cost savings that Huntington has identified.

The watchdog group has complained to the Federal Reserve, which is seeking public comments before it decides whether to approve the deal.

The group has said many of the offices slated to close are in moderate or lower-income communities and complained that Huntington has a poor record of loaning money to minorities to buy homes or refinance mortgages in the Cleveland and Akron areas.

Huntington told the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland that most of the offices that will be closed are within 2 miles of another office and that only 13 are in low- to moderate-income areas.

The bank said the deal will benefit FirstMerit customers who will get access to Huntington services that, for example, allow 24 hours to cover an overdraft before a fee is imposed.

The bank also took exception to the group�s claim about lending to minorities and noted its effort with community programs throughout its Midwest market to increase lending in low- to moderate-income communities.

�Huntington Bank is firmly committed to making its credit products and services available to prospective and existing customers on a fair and equitable basis, in strict compliance with both the letter and spirit of the fair lending laws and regulations,� the bank said.

mawilliams@dispatch.com

@BizMarkWilliams