First Merchants Corp Reports $224.1M Net Income and Completes First Savings Acquisition

**First Merchants Corp Reports Year-End Results, Completes First Savings Acquisition**

First Merchants Corporation (FRME), a financial holding company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana, reported net income available to common stockholders of $224.1 million, or $3.88 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2025. This compares to $199.5 million, or $3.41 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2024. The company's total assets reached $19.0 billion as of December 31, 2025, marking a 3.9% increase from the $18.3 billion reported at the end of the previous fiscal year. The corporation's stated mission to be the most attentive, knowledgeable, and high performing bank requires a dedicated and talented team of colleagues to succeed.

A significant development for the company was the completion of the acquisition of First Savings Financial Group, Inc. on February 1, 2026. The merger agreement, dated September 24, 2025, resulted in First Savings Bank merging with First Merchants Bank. First Savings, with $2.4 billion in assets, $1.9 billion in loans, and $1.7 billion in deposits as of December 31, 2025, expands First Merchants' presence in the southern Indiana market. Merger-related expenses of $0.8 million were recorded for the year ended December 31, 2025, in connection with the First Savings acquisition.

Key operational metrics revealed a 7.3% increase in the total loan portfolio, reaching $13.8 billion, driven by growth in commercial and industrial loans and public finance and other commercial loans. The allowance for credit losses on loans stood at $195.6 million, representing 1.42% of total loans, compared to $192.8 million, or 1.50% of total loans, at the end of 2024. Net charge-offs for the year were $18.4 million, or 0.14% of average loans, a decrease from the $49.4 million, or 0.39% of average loans, reported in the previous year. Nonaccrual loans decreased slightly to $71.8 million from $73.8 million in the prior year.

Looking ahead, the Corporation anticipates continuing its geographic expansion strategy through acquisitions of banks whose operations align with its community banking philosophy. Management routinely explores opportunities to acquire financial institutions and other financial services-related businesses and to enter into strategic alliances to expand the scope of the Corporation’s services and customer base. The Corporation's ability to engage in certain merger or acquisition transactions, whether or not any regulatory approval is required, will be dependent upon the Corporation’s regulators’ views at the time as to the capital levels, quality of management and the Corporation’s overall condition, and their assessment of a variety of other factors.