COLUMBUS, Ohio (COLUMBUS BUSINESS FIRST) — Central Ohio businesses are preparing for an economic downturn, alongside continuing challenges such as housing and traffic, the same way they helped the region win Intel: Together, the co-leader of the Columbus Partnership said.

Many of the region’s companies – Huntington Bancshares Inc. among them – turned in strong financial performances in 2022 that put them in good shape to weather this year, Huntington CEO Steve Steinour said.

“This is a well-telegraphed economic slowdown,” Steinour said in a phone interview after reporting the bank’s record year-end earnings. “This is why regional planning is so important.”

Columbus now is known on the international stage, he said, a status it didn’t enjoy a decade ago.

That reputation was bolstered even more by the announcement one year ago that Intel Corp. would build the first phase of a semiconductor fabrication complex in New Albany that one day could become the world’s largest.

“We can’t take this for granted,” Steinour said.

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