| **General** | 9 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
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| General     | NOTE 1. GeneralFinancial Statement PreparationThesignificant accounting policies followed byFirst  Merchants Corporation (the“Corporation”)  and its wholly ownedsubsidiaries for interim financial reporting are consistent withthe accounting policies followed for annual financial reporting.All adjustments, which are of a normal recurring nature and are inthe opinion of management necessary for a fair statement of theresults for the periods reported, have been included in theaccompanying consolidated condensed financialstatements.Theconsolidated condensed balance sheet of the Corporation as ofDecember 31, 2010, has been derived from the audited consolidatedbalance sheet of the Corporation as of that date. Certaininformation and note disclosures normally included in theCorporation’s annual financial statements prepared inaccordance with accounting principles generally accepted in theUnited States of America have been condensed or omitted. Theseconsolidated condensed financial statements should be read inconjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notesthereto included in the Corporation’s Form 10-K annual reportfiled with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The results ofoperations for the nine months ended September 30, 2011, are notnecessarily indicative of the results to be expected for theyear. |

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| - Definition
The entire disclosure for organization, consolidation and basis of presentation of financial statements disclosure.
+ References
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