Ed Reilly, KeyBank’s southwest Ohio district president, retires Wednesday after about six years in the top spot for the bank’s area operations.

As district president, Reilly oversaw consumer, business and commercial banking and wealth management in the region from northern Kentucky to Dayton and Springfield.

Reilly, 59, feels he’s come full circle, having started and now ending his 36-year banking career in Dayton. His first job out of college in 1977 was at Dayton’s First National Bank, which later became National City and then PNC. He joined KeyBank in 2006 as a district president in Michigan.

He returned to the Dayton market for Key in 2007.

“Thirty-six years in the business is a good run. I’ve enjoyed the business and have done well at it. My wife and I are just looking forward to retirement together,” said Reilly, a Dayton area resident.

A successor hasn’t yet been named. Reilly said the bank is vetting candidates internally and externally.

When Reilly started in the banking business, there were three banks in Dayton that held more than 80 percent of market share. Business used to walk in the door, he said.

“Today there are far more banks and the competition for growth and clients has really, really intensified,” he said.

Phil Parker, president and chief executive officer of Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, and Sandy Gudorf, president of Downtown Dayton Partnership, said Reilly is a leader in downtown revitalization. When KeyBank’s lease expired on its old downtown office, the bank under Reilly’s leadership moved in 2008 to its current local headquarters on the corner of Main and West Second streets. That was a major commitment, they said.

“Ed has been a very effective community leader,” said Gudorf. Reilly has been on the board of the downtown partnership a number of years. “In his position at Key, representing Key, he’s been a strong advocate.”

He helped put together the downtown plan and led an effort to look for funding sources, she said.

Parker added, “He’s just been a great supporter of Dayton.”

Cleveland’s KeyBank is the fourth largest bank in the Dayton and Springfield metros by deposits of more than $1.1 billion, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. More than 50 Key bank branches are located in the Cincinnati-Dayton-Springfield region, employing 483 people, according to the company.