Sky Bank Consolidates at Hart

CHICAGO Sky Financial Group has tapped independent Hart Associates as lead agency in a consolidation, according to the shop.

The assignment includes work for the company's 280 banks in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana and West Virginia.

The shop had previously worked for SFG for the past four years on a project basis. Hart had created the company's "It's a new sky" materials for branch openings and its "Nothing but blue skies" internal employee appreciation campaign.

"Hart Associates is a top-notch agency that has consistently met expectations with the work they've done on the Sky Bank account," said Curtis Shepherd, director of marketing and product development at the Bowling Green, Ohio, company, in a statement. "As we transition into the next phase of our relationship, I am confident the Hart team will continue to be a good business partner with fresh, new ideas that strengthen the Sky brand."

The Toledo shop is already developing two campaigns for the company: one touting home equity loans and the other mortgages. In addition to creative, Hart is handling media duties on those campaigns.

Sources said billings on the account are $2-3 million. SFG spent just under $2 million on advertising last year, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

Contenders for the business were not disclosed.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.