Meijer, Huntington Ink 10-year Bank Deal

Meijer Inc. and Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington Bank inked an in-store banking agreement that will create 500 jobs with the addition of branch locations in Meijer stores throughout Michigan.

With the 10-year agreement, Huntington will install seven-day-a-week, full-service branches in dozens of Meijer stores throughout Michigan over the course of the next several years. The branches will operate with extended hours, giving Meijer shoppers the added convenience of banking in the evening and on the weekends.

In the short-term, new Huntington branches will be built in more than 20 Meijer stores in Michigan, which will be constructed from May of 2012 through the end of the year and will include several newly constructed Meijer stores.

Huntington has tapped Steelcase to design its new Meijer in-store branches, which will feature a unique, cutting-edge design to enhance customer experience and allow for more open interaction.

Meijer said it will add 20 Huntington bank branches in its stores by year's end, the first of which will open in a new Meijer location in Bath, Mich., later this month.

Huntington's new Meijer in-store branches will be open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.

Meijer has 197 store locations in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.