As of 2007, National City Corp. ranked number 188 on the Fortune 500 list, and 9th in terms of revenue in the commercial banks industry. With total assets of $140,190.8 million (about 140 billion) and a market cap of $24.542.1 billion. Shareholders earned $3.72 per share up 20.4% from 2005.

History

National City Bank was founded on May 17, 1845, when a group of Cleveland businessmen pooled $50,000, and organized the City Bank of Cleveland, the first bank opened under the Ohio Bank Act of 1845 in a small town with no gas, electricity, public waterworks or railroad. Reuben Sheldon and Theodoric C. Severance, formerly of the Fireman's Insurance Company, organized The City Bank of Cleveland. The city's only bank at the time, opened its doors to the public at No. 52 Superior Street.

Recent Transactions

National City has been on an acquisition spree of late, including its $2.1 billion purchase of Cincinnati-based Provident Financial Group in 2004. In addition, in 2005, National City acquired Allegiant Bancorp to secure a presence in the St. Louis, MO market. In 2006 they acquired Fidelity Bankshares Inc. for an estimated $1 billion dollar deal that is half cash, half stock. Also acquiring Harbor Florida Bancshares Inc. through a $1.1 billion stock deal, both banks are located in Florida. Combined it gives National City 7.4 billion of assets in Florida. It also gives National City 94 branches in a market that is growing quickly. On the other side of the ledger, National City sold to Bank of America its 83% stake in National Processing Company, which earns fees from processing merchant credit card transactions. The sale of San Jose, Calif. based First Franklin origination franchise and related servicing platform to Merrill Lynch & Co. was completed on Dec. 30th, 2006 for $1.3 billion. In May, 2007 National City announced the purchase of MAF Bancorp Inc., the holding company for MidAmerica Bank.

Marketing

In 1998, they had a commercial with their old theme song "Life Is a Highway" by Tom Cochrane.
In early 2007, National City introduced their "Best in Class" programs, which include:
National City Points, where customers earn points for everyday transactions on certain accounts, including check writing, online bill payments, and signed card transactions. Similar to credit card rewards programs, customers can use these points to redeem items that range from gift cards to vacation packages.
Free checking accounts without ATM fees for transactions at non-National City ATMs. In addition to not charging the fee themselves, any usage fees charged by the ATM owner are reimbursed.