NEWS

First Merchants Corporation announced that Jean L. Wojtowicz has been appointed as First Merchants Corporation and First Merchants Bank Chair of the Board of Directors. Effective May 7, 2024, Wojtowicz succeeds Charles E. Schalliol, who retired after serving as Chair for the past seventeen years.

First Merchants Bank of Muncie, a leading community bank committed to serving the needs of all, announced today the plans for its newest branch in the Fitzgerald neighborhood, located at 7525 West McNichols Road.

First Merchants Bank announces recognition from workplace culture company Comparably in five categories for 2023. The bank was selected out of 70,000 companies across the U.S. with honors for Best Career Growth, Best Leadership, Best CEOs for Women, Best Work-Life Balance, and, for the first time, Best CEO.

New research from First Merchants Bank has revealed that almost a third (31%) of Americans aged 18-24 preference is to take advice on financial issues from celebrities and influencers via social media channels. Platforms such as Twitter (X), Instagram and TikTok are increasingly being used by younger generations for information. People can search for information and find a plethora of user generated content, offering advice on all manner of topics.

Mark Hardwick, Chief Executive Officer, stated, "During a year where safety and soundness became the highest priority of stakeholders, we are very pleased with the positioning of our balance sheet. The Bank’s liquidity position improved by $585 million as cash increased by $300 million and borrowings declined by $285 million year over year. Our tangible common equity increased by $222 million driving our tangible common equity ratio from 7.37 percent to 8.44 percent and the allowance to loans continues to be top decile totaling 1.64 percent." Hardwick added, "Our team built this resilient balance sheet while also producing core loan growth of just over 5 percent and deposit growth of 3 percent. In a year with large bank failures, our company produced solid results with net income totaling $222 million, a strong ROA of 1.23%, and an efficiency ratio of 55%. These results are without any adjustments for one-time charges totaling $12.7 million which were incurred in the fourth quarter. The actions taken during the quarter to reduce costs will lead to an even more efficient franchise in 2024."