FirstMerit Unveils Website that Responds to Mobile Devices

FirstMerit (FMER) of Akron, Ohio, has unveiled a website that formats itself automatically to fit mobile devices.

The $14.9 billion-asset bank said Monday that the site also features an improved search function, a branch locator that uses Google maps and an expanded area for customer service.

"Our new design and easy navigation provides a fully functional website to all users, whether they access us on their home computer, tablet or smartphone," Julie Tutkovics, FirstMerit's chief marketing officer, said in a news release. "Incorporating responsive design into our website allows us to accommodate all of our online users, no matter how they prefer to access us, without sending tablet and smartphone users to an abbreviated mobile site."

In September, FirstMerit announced plans to buy Citizens Republic Bancorp (CRBC) of Flint, Mich., for $912 million. As part of the deal, which is expected to close by July, Citizens also agreed to repay roughly $350 million that Citizens received through the Troubled Asset Relief Program.