Artina Packnett

Artina Packnett, Banking Center Manager with First Merchants Bank, always wanted to find fulfilling work. Her first job out of college – working in sales at a car rental company – fell far short of that dream.

“I thought there had to be something more, so I took a job and applied at a local bank,” she recalled. “It was just a really good fit for me – I had a passion for helping people and helping the community.”

But the journey wasn’t always easy. After 14 years in banking, she got an itch to get more hands on, more involved in making the world a better place, so she quit her career and launched a new one in higher education. But that, too, fell short.

“I think I needed to have that experience to realize that banking was where I was meant to be,” she shared. “Education just didn’t give me the fulfillment I felt working at a bank that was really engaged in the community, or that I felt helping people directly meet their needs as you do in banking. You know, in banking, people are buying their first homes, kids are getting their first checking accounts – those are major life milestones that can completely change the course of someone’s life.”

And, while those things are also true of education, Artina said she missed the personal touch and the individual attention she could give banking clients.

“So I went back to banking,” she said with a laugh, “I think it was where I was supposed to be the whole time.”

It’s that passion to create positive change that she brings with her as the leader of First Merchants’ newest branch in the Fitzgerald community of Detroit, Mich. This community that has been underserved by banks in the past, and where a large chunk of community members struggle to make ends meet. This, Artina says, is where First Merchants can make a difference.

“We have products that are specifically designed for people who are credit challenged,” she said. “We have products to help first time homebuyers, we help people get access to downpayment grants, we have a home improvement loan where the minimum credit score required is 600 – which is unseen and unheard of in a lot of organizations. So, I think First Merchants has something special because we tailor products to the communities that we serve – we don’t want any community to get left out, and it’s making a difference in people’s lives.”

Artina was tapped to serve as the Fitzgerald branch’s Banking Manager because of her passion, and because for her, Fitzgerald is home.

“My mom lives about two miles from the Fitzgerald branch,” she shared with a laugh, “so I grew up in the area. I love this community – it’s really special, because it’s a community that’s coming back from some hard times, and you really get to see it growing.”

Artina said she’s enjoyed watching apartments go up, community gardens be planted, and coffee shops open up.

“These are things you didn’t see in this neighborhood before – so it’s really exciting to be part of this rebound,” she said.

To help the community create a strong foundation for growth, Artina is focusing on making banking as accessible as possible to the people of Fitzgerald. The new branch is walkable for many residents, and Artina is pouring her all into community outreach and financial wellness education – especially in schools.

If we can engage with the younger crowd, it will spill over to their parents, and it will change generations,” she explained. “That’s my goal: one kid at a time, one student at a time, one parent at a time.”

First Merchants is also sponsoring initiatives like the Fitzgerald Home Improvement Fund, an offer unique to the Fitzgerald area. For every account that residents open, First Merchants is donating $500 to a fund that is available to the community. Residents will be able to apply to the fund to cover home repairs and maintenance.

“I’m really excited about this, because so many people in Fitzgerald live in generational family homes, or are credit challenged, or are living paycheck to paycheck,” she said. “This is something that could really help the community and level the playing field.”

And, Artina is also working to ensure that the bank is attentive to residents’ requests and is providing more than just banking services– something that began even before the branch’s groundbreaking.

“We didn’t open until 2025, but last summer we were out here doing backpack giveaways, doing financial wellness classes, doing grocery gift cards for the holidays – we want to make sure we’re approachable, that people know us, and that we’re meeting this community’s needs,” she said.

In addition to her work with the Fitzgerald banking center, Artina serves as the Secretary of the Wayne County Community Reinvestment Association, on the board of the Livernois Business Improvement Zone, and the Fitzgerald Community Advisory Board.

In her spare time, Artina loves to travel and explore new places.