Not All "Banksters," Huntington Exec Shows

In banking's darkest hour bankers on the far side of The Pond have collectively been tarnished with the derisory term "bankster."By running a marathon for a children's cancer charity, Brandon McGee, a vice president with Huntington Bancshares, is doing his bit to redress the image of bankers and the oppressive negativity that prevails. "The news is so toxic that it can begin to poison your spirit," McGee says, in a post to his mobile banking blog, announcing his plan to run the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Oct. 11. He invites others to run, too, or to express their support through a financial contribution.

McGee wrote to BS&T to say, "I think this is a great opportunity to: 1) Raise money for charity 2) Turn 2009 into a positive year 3) Let the world know that there are a lot of bankers that are good people."

Asked why he picked St. Jude's, the Memphis, Tenn., research hospital, as his cause, McGee says, "I learned that at St. Jude's, no child is ever denied treatment because of the family's inability to pay. As a father blessed with two healthy children, it seemed like a natural way to give back."

As senior product manager of mobile banking for Huntington, the country's 23rd largest bank, McGee oversaw the introduction of m-banking last August and the addition of text alerts to that service this March. Early last year, McGee formed the Bankers Alliance for the Mobile Arena (BAMA,) a group hosted on LinkedIn, which had 88 members at the end of March, 2009.

Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington has $55 billion in assets.