Fulton Financial (FULT) in Lancaster, Pa., announced that its longtime chief financial officer will retire at the end of this year.

The $16.5 billion-asset company said it had hired an executive search firm to find a successor for Charles Nugent, who has been the CFO since 1992.

“His insight and perspective have been instrumental in helping Fulton Financial grow and navigate the ups and downs of various economic cycles," Philip Wenger, Fulton’s chairman and chief executive, said in a press release.

Nugent will become the second high-profile executive to retire from Fulton. Wenger became the company’s CEO earlier this year following the retirement of Scott Smith.

Think banking has been tough the last few years? Try running 156 miles in the Sahara Desert.

Last month banking attorney Brennan Ryan participated in the Marathon des Sables in Morocco, considered the toughest footrace on earth.

Ryan, his wife, Stefanie Ryan, and friend Robert Lewellen raised $45,000 for the research fund Hemophilia of Georgia by making the run. Two of Stefanie Ryan's nephews have hemophilia.

Ryan — a partner at Nelson Mullins who counts State Bank Financial (STBZ) in Atlanta and Talmer Bancorp in Troy, Mich., among his clients — is a prolific runner. He runs six to eight distance races a year, he says, but the des Sables was like no other.

"It is a bucket-list race," he says. "It is difficult for two reasons: the weather and terrain are brutal, of course, but it is also self-supporting, meaning you have all of your food, supplies, sleeping gear on your back as you're running."

The race happens over six days, with runners completing roughly a marathon — 26.2 miles — a day for four days. The last leg is 50 miles, and runners have two days to complete it.

It was a nice break from having to juggle banks across the country, Ryan says.

"It is tough to focus on any one client when you have emails, texts and phone calls," Ryan says. "With something like the Marathon des Sables, your life is focused on a single task for a week and that is really liberating and mentally calming."

While it is a nice mental vacation, it is still a physical beast.

"There is nothing easy about running 155 miles in the desert," Ryan says. "At some point you think, 'What am I doing?'"

There were also no showers along the course.

"I hope the smell doesn't come through in the photos," he said.

Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) is tightening its ties to Toledo, Ohio.

The $56 billion-asset company said Thursday that it would donate $150,000 for programs and scholarships at the University of Toledo and open two branches on the school's campus. One branch will be inside the university's student union; the other will be located in a nearby neighborhood.

Huntington, which is based in Columbus, Ohio, will have 47 branches in the northwestern part of the state once the Toledo locations open. Overall, the company has roughly 700 branches in six states.

Huntington "is committed to ongoing investment in Toledo," Steve Steinour, the company's chief executive, said in a press release. Huntington is looking "forward to continuing to work with the university as it educates the next generation of leaders."

The partnership would "provide more students with the ability to earn a top-tier education," Lloyd Jacobs, the university's president, added.
 
The program mirrors a similar pact Huntington formed last year with Ohio State University. Students and employees of the university will be able to sign up for checking and other services from Huntington, though the program excludes a prepaid card, a company spokeswoman says.

Mars National Bank near Pittsburgh is tapping a native son's ties to America's pastime to raise its local profile.

The $351 million-asset institution in Mars, Pa., has formed a marketing campaign around pitchman Neil Walker, 27, a second baseman for the Pirates who grew up seven miles away from the bank's headquarters.

Walker, who stands 6 foot 3 and averaged .256 at the plate through Thursday afternoon, first came to Mars National Bank as a customer. His father, Tom, a former major league pitcher who won 18 games over six seasons with the Montreal Expos, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals and California Angels, is a customer, too.

"Many of us know Neil, and when there was an opportunity for us to work together, there was a nice connection," Jim Dionise, Mars National Bank's chief executive, told American Banker. "His point of view is similar to ours: working hard and making sure you take care of the relationship. I think we hit it off."

Mars National is among several banks that have recently turned to sports stars to build business and spur goodwill. Hanmi Bank in Los Angeles has signed Shin-Soo Choo of the Cincinnati Reds and Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Los Angeles Dodgersas its public faces in a move the bank hopes will build excitement throughout the area's Korean-American community. Baltimore's First Mariner Bancorp (FMAR) recently re-signed Ravens' quarterback Joe Flacco to be a local face for the institution.

Officials at Mars National initially envisioned a series of television commercials in which Neil promotes the bank's home equity loans. "Some people call me 'The Pittsburgh Kid,'" Walker says in one commercial. "I grew up here and I love our community."

Later, the marketing team at Mars also decided to record a series of conversations between Neil and Tom in which the men talk about playing baseball, making it to the big leagues and banking with Mars.

Neil — whose likeness appears on posters and pop-up displays at the bank's six branches — also talks about playing in the Brad-Mar Pine Community Little League and attending Pine-Richland High School. The Pirates signed him in 2004.

Neil and Tom have something else in common besides their bank. The pair is one of six father-son duos to be drafted in the first round, according to ESPN. Other members of the club: Jeff and Sean Burroughs, Ben and Tom Grieve, Steve and Nick Swisher, and John Mayberry Jr. and Delino DeShields Jr. and their dads.

Though the team's travel schedule prevents Neil from appearing on behalf of the bank during the season, bank officials say also they hope to do an added promotion with him after the season.

The bank's skipper says the campaign has been a hit with customers and the bank's roughly 100 employees. "I think it's resonated very well," Dionise said. "People are thrilled to see the connection."

Seven months after his abrupt departure from Citigroup (NYSE:C), former Chief Executive Vikram Pandit is wading back into the financial industry.

Pandit and business partner Hari Aiyar are taking a 3% stake in JM Financial Group in India. The Mumbai company said Thursday that it is applying for a banking license from Indian regulators, and that it would nominate Pandit as non-executive chairman of the bank. The former Citigroup leader will also run a distressed asset fund set up by his firm and JM Financial, with an initial target capitalization of $100 million.

It is the first significant industry reappearance of Pandit since October, when Citigroup's board abruptly replaced him with current CEO Michael Corbat. Pandit took over Citigroup in late 2007, as the bank's backlog of bad mortgages tipped it into the financial crisis, and shepherded the bank through three government bailouts and a slow recovery from the worst of the crisis.

But he faced a series of setbacks last year, including Citi's failed stress test and a shareholder rejection of his compensation package, before the board forced him out.

Pandit, who was born in India, said in a statement Thursday that he believes "in the long-term growth prospects of India" and that "given the opportunity, JM Financial can provide the banking and financial services that the country needs."