Company: FRME
Filing Date: 2025-02-24
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000712534-25-000058
Chunk: 107

Company: FIRST MERCHANTS CORP
Filing Date: 2025-02-24
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 107
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ITEM 1. BUSINESS.

GENERAL

The Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana and was organized in September 1982.  The Corporation’s Common Stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol FRME.  The Corporation has one full-service bank charter, First Merchants Bank, which opened for business in Muncie, Indiana, in March 1893.  The Bank also operates First Merchants Private Wealth Advisors (a division of First Merchants Bank).  The Bank includes 110 banking locations in Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. In addition to its branch network, the Corporation offers comprehensive electronic and mobile delivery channels to its customers.  The Corporation’s business activities are currently limited to one significant business segment, which is community banking.

Through the Bank, the Corporation offers a broad range of commercial and consumer banking services to meet the diverse needs of our customers.  Our commercial banking team offers a full spectrum of debt capital, treasury management services and depository products.  The consumer banking group offers a variety of consumer deposit and lending products.  The mortgage banking team offers consumer mortgage solutions to assist with the purchase, refinance, construction or renovation of residential properties.  Private Wealth Advisors offers personal wealth management services with expertise in investment management, private banking, fiduciary estate and financial planning.

All inter-company transactions are eliminated during the preparation of consolidated financial statements.

As of December 31, 2024, the Corporation had consolidated assets of $18.3 billion, consolidated deposits of $14.5 billion and stockholders’ equity of $2.3 billion.  

HUMAN CAPITAL

As of December 31, 2024, the Corporation and its subsidiaries had 2,120 full-time equivalent employees.  Our stated mission to be the most attentive, knowledgeable, and high performing bank requires a dedicated and talented team of colleagues to succeed.  Our employees prepare, every day, to deliver a customer and colleague experience that grows the Corporation.  We seek to attract, retain and develop a team of committed colleagues who are capable of delivering a whole-bank delivery approach.  

Best Places to Work / Employer of Choice:  The Bank will continue to participate in the Best Places to Work surveys in the three states we operate.  We constantly strive to be an employer of choice.  Onboarding, training, talent assessment and development, career conversations, development planning and a culture of pride in high performance help us achieve employer of choice status.  We have identified three core