Since his arrival in April as the chief executive for Provident/National City Bank in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, Price has taken a keen interest in the small details at the region's second-largest bank. So he drove around the region, visiting all 52 Provident branches.

National City, he says, will focus on sprucing up existing branches as well as building new ones.

T. MICHAEL PRICE

Title: Chief executive officer of Provident Bank/National City Banking career: Entered banking in 1987 at National City Corp. Served in a variety of positions, including branch manager, commercial lender and regional branch executive. • In 1996, he helped to start the Small Business Banking division at National City Bank of Cleveland. • In 1999, he assumed corporate-wide responsibility for this segment and was named a senior vice president of the corporation. • Before joining Provident, he served as executive vice president of Small Business Banking for National City. Education: Bachelor's degree, University of Utah, 1987; master's degree, business administration, Cleveland State University, 1997. Community service: Greater Cincinnati Boy Scouts, the Youth and Service Programs, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and board member of the Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, a social-service organization.

NATIONAL CITY CORP.

Founded: 1845 Headquarters: Cleveland Chairman and chief executive officer: David A. Daberko Markets: About 1,180 branches in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois and Missouri. Employees: About 33,000* Assets: $133 billion * ATMs: 2,000* Deposits: $73 billion* Mortgage lending: One of the nation's largest mortgage lenders, with $125 billion in mortgage loans executed last year. 2003 profits: $2.1 billion Stock: Trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol NCC. 52-week stock high $37.88 (Aug. 8, 2004); 52-week low $33.66 (June 30, 2004) Market capitalization: $25.4 billion* *Includes Provident numbers. Sources: National City Corp., Bloomberg Business News and Enquirer research

"We're going to continue to make investments here as long as we continue to grow," Price said.

Price has a war chest of cash, new products and the nation's eighth-largest bank behind him as he strives to make National City a major player in Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky.

Banking analysts say National City's arrival will change how Provident's biggest rivals - including Fifth Third, U.S. Bank and PNC - do business, as they contend with a major bank that will be more aggressive than Provident ever was in its 102-year history.

But they also point out that the region's market is highly competitive, and growing here won't be easy for National City.

Price's plan is to add customers in all of the bank's businesses, and he will consider buying other local banks or thrifts.

His goal: Nothing less than a makeover of Provident, to keep the bank's 500,000 customers and pick up new ones on both sides of the Ohio River.

Price, 40, who previously built small-business banking into a strong unit at Cleveland-based National City, will have the clout of a Midwestern banking giant with eight times the assets of Provident Financial Group Inc., which National City Corp. bought in July for $2.1 billion in stock.

"National City is not a business constrained by its balance sheet," he said. "We'll invest in people, our structure (branches) and products to grow our presence here."

Bold expansion plans

Price has been given some 30 financial products that Provident did not offer and has approval to hire extra people to help expand the customer base. He also will oversee many of the job cuts that will come with the merger, though National City is not saying how many of Provident's 3,200 employees will eventually lose their jobs.

National City, which became Ohio's largest bank with its Provident deal, last year had profits of $2.1 billion. Its purchase of Provident gives it assets of $133 billion and 1,180 branches in seven states, including Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.

Price and Mike McCuen, who will run commercial banking for National City in Cincinnati, say the bank's expansion ambitions include:

• Doubling the size of its mortgage business by year's end, before Provident is fully merged into National City.

Those plans, part of an effort to bump Fifth Third Bank as Greater Cincinnati's largest home lender, includes opening three new mortgage offices by late next year. That's in addition to a mortgage office National City opened in Westwood in July and one it had previously opened in Blue Ash.

National City also has increased its mortgage lending staff in Cincinnati to 12 people from about six since July and plans to add another 10 people by year's end. Provident had two mortgage loan officers in the region.

Rival Fifth Third originated about $2.48 billion in mortgage loans last year as the area's biggest home lender. In contrast, National City's mortgage operations originated $1.1 billion in home loans in the region last year and Provident about $108 million, according to National City.

John Gellhausen, who oversees National City's consumer finance business, which includes its mortgage operations, said Provident was not active in the conventional mortgage loan business, where most home mortgages are made.

"We're aggressively recruiting experienced loan people today, and we plan to move into the No.1 position by the end of 2005," he said.

• Investing $30 million to $40 million to build and open 15 new branches in the next three years to expand Provident's network of 52 branches in Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky.

• Launching six new types of mortgages, including those with no-money-down options and new government-backed loans that are expected to enhance home financing for minorities and low-income families.

• Introducing new credit cards. Those products also will allow credit card users free online services such as making payments, transferring balances and reviewing their statements online.

• Expanding small-business banking in the region by boosting the number of small-business loan officers to 15 from 9 in the next year.

• Beginning in December or January, National City will start linking its name to Provident in local advertising, setting the stage for the Provident name to be erased around March.

• Introducing a local trade finance operation that provides international services to Cincinnati companies that import and export products. • Offering area companies public-finance services.

Provident will be a small slice of the National City pie: Its profits account for only about 5 percent of National City's. Provident made $109.3 million last year, compared to National City's 2003 profits of $2.1 billion.

But the deal gives National City entree into Ohio's third-largest metro market, which has an attractive demographic base and gives National City a major presence in every large metro area in the state.

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky/Southeast Indiana has a strong median family income of more than $55,000, expected to grow 15 percent over the next five years.

"We're looking forward to bringing National City's wide range of products and services to Provident customers," said National City chairman and CEO David Daberko.

Tough nut to crack

Despite its financial might, banking analysts say breaking into the regional market will not be an easy task for National City.

Even with its purchase of Provident, National City will have roughly $5 billion less in local deposits than homegrown Fifth Third Bank.Fifth Third is the region's largest bank with deposits of about $15 billion and 141 branches and more than 445,000 customers. Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp is third largest, with deposits of $8.7 billion, 115 branches and 450,000 customers.

Even as National City forms its growth plan, other banks are not standing idle. Fifth Third, Key Bank, Huntington, U.S. Bank, PNC, First Financial Bank and The Bank of Kentucky and others have announced plans to add offices throughout the region.

"Competition and choice is good for Cincinnati customers, and we welcome it," Fifth Third said in a statement. "We'll continue to work hard to earn and keep our customers' business."U.S. Bank also awaits National City's entry.

"U.S. Bank has long been a strong force in the Greater Cincinnati banking market, dating back to 1863," said Jim Schwab, market president of U.S. Bank in Cincinnati. "We recognize that with changes in the market comes the opportunity for U.S. Bank to attract new customers and new people to our organization."

And PNC operates the region's fourth-largest bank.

"We will continue to be aggressive in expanding our presence, developing new business and providing the highest-quality products and services for all of our clients in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area," PNC said in a statement.

Jason Goldberg, a banking analyst at Lehman Brothers in New York, said National City's broader product array and more developed sales culture will make it a more formidable competitor than the conservatively run Provident had been.

"You'll have National City going after Fifth Third customers and Fifth Third going after Provident customers, trying to sell them on the hometown banking idea," he said.

Challenges ahead

A major challenge for National City will be to hang onto Provident customers, said Bert Ely, president of Ely & Co. Inc., an Alexandria, Va., bank consulting firm.

In the local financial community, many executives say other bankers already are recruiting Provident executives.

National City executives decline to say how many jobs will be cut with the merger, but reports say that number is at least 400 to 800 jobs. Many of those job cuts are expected to come early next year.

Another challenge for National City will be building deposits in Greater Cincinnati, particularly with tough competition from U.S. Bank and Fifth Third, said Fred Cummings, analyst at Key Banc Capital Markets in Cleveland. He follows all three banks for investors.

But Price says National City will be very competitive and aggressive in pricing its products. "If you look at the marketplace, we're offering the best (set) rate on a money market account for businesses and individuals; it pays 2.25 percent."

Analysts say just the sheer size of National City, its larger stable of products and its financial might will allow it to do many things Provident could not. For example, National City's higher credit rating will allow it to borrow money more cheaply than Provident, enabling it to offer better pricing on such things as home-equity loans.

Thomas Noe, treasurer at Peoples Community Bank in West Chester, said National City will shake up the local banking market, particularly putting pressure on some of its larger rivals.He said Provident had a great branch network, but it was underutilized because of limited offerings. Noe predicted National City would target market-dominant Fifth Third, U.S. Bank and PNC. "I see them licking their chops for a shot at the bigger banks," he said.

Queen City finishes crown

In a recent speech, National City chairman and CEO David Daberko described Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky as the "missing jewel" in the bank's expansion crown. Among other things, Daberko said, the acquisition of Provident:

• Expands National City's presence in Dayton.

• Establishes National City as the top bank in Ohio in terms of market share.

• Gives the bank a major presence in every large metropolitan area in Ohio.

• Delivers attractive demographics. The region has a median family income of more than $55,000.

Bankers see a market with substantial middle- and upper-income individuals and families who are prospects for any number of investment or lending products. And the region's annual income is expected to grow 15 percent over the next five years.

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E-mail jmckinney@enquirer.com