First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ: FRME) (“the company ”) is a $21.3 billion-asset Indiana-based financial holding company. Through its bank subsidiary, First Merchants Bank (“the bank”), FRME operates 126 branches across a three-state footprint of Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.
The company has historically augmented organic growth with opportunistic M&A, completing eight deals since 2014. Most recently, FRME completed its merger with First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (“FSFG”) in February 2026. The deal added $2.4 billion assets, expanded the footprint into southern Indiana, and provided solid growth opportunities in national specialty lending verticals (namely, triple-net leasing, first lien HELOCs and SBA lending). FRME’s earnings profile also includes fees related to wealth and mortgage, among others, which typically account for ~20% of revenues.
FRME maintains a commercially oriented $15.5 billion loan portfolio, with C&I…
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