Huntington Bancshares: Financial Loser

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) was the loser among the largest U.S. financial names on Wednesday, with shares declining 2.5% to close at $5.84.

The broad indexes gave up earlier gains after Federal Reserve Chairman in a speech before the Economic Club of Minnesota indicated that the central bank may have to be less accommodating in its rate policy, because "inflation picked up significantly" so far in 2012, because "prices of many commodities, notably oil, increased sharply earlier this year," and because of supply disruptions, making "the price index for personal consumption expenditures rise at an annual rate of about 3-1/2 percent, compared with an average of less than 1-1/2 percent over the preceding two years."

Bernanke added that "inflation is expected to moderate in the coming quarters as these transitory influences wane," and that "in particular, the prices of oil and many other commodities have either leveled off or have come down from their highs."

The The KBW Bank Index (I:BKX) declined 1 % to close at 45.32, with

Huntington Bancshares has seen its stock return 6% year-to-date, following a 19% decline in 2011.