Company: FRME
Filing Date: 2025-04-01
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0000712534-25-000077
Chunk: 14

Company: FIRST MERCHANTS CORP
Filing Date: 2025-04-01
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 14
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’s senior financial officers, including the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, President, Corporate Controller and Corporate Treasurer. The Code of Conduct, including the Code of Ethics, is published on the Company’s website. See https://ir.firstmerchants.com , under Corporate Information/Code of Conduct .

#### DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
FMC is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Using the definition of “independent director” in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605(a)(2), the Board has determined that each of the non-employee directors and director-nominees - Mr. Becher, Ms. Brooks, Dr. Chiang, Mr. Fisher, Mr. Halderman, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Kellogg, Mr. Lehman, Mr. Sondhi, and Ms. Wojtowicz - is an independent director. Only Messrs. Hardwick, Fehring, and Rechin, because they are the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, former Chief Executive Officer of an acquired company, and former Chief Executive Officer, respectively, are not independent directors.

In determining that the non-employee directors and director-nominees are independent, the Board took into consideration the following transactions involving Mr. Halderman: (1) Halderman Farm Management Service, Inc., of which Mr. Halderman is the President and CEO and sole owner, provides farm management and consulting services to Company affiliates, and manages or has managed some farms that are held in trust accounts for which First Merchants Private Wealth Advisors (“ FMPWA ”), a division of FMB, serves as the trustee; and (2) Halderman Real Estate Services, Inc., of which Mr. Halderman is the President and CEO and which is owned by Mr. Halderman’s father, has provided some farm appraisals and other real estate sales services to FMB and FMPWA trust accounts. These transactions were not disclosed as “transactions with related persons” on page 52, pursuant to Item 404(a) of SEC Regulation S-K, because the amounts involved were less than the threshold amount that would require disclosure under that Item. The Board considers the services provided by Halderman Farm Management Services, Inc. and Halderman Real Estate Services, Inc. to be transactional support for certain loans and trustee services conducted by the Company and its affiliates. These services are performed pursuant to a bidding process and there are no agreements in place between Mr. Halderman's companies and the Company and its