First Merchants (FRME) Q3 2025 Earnings Transcript

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Thursday, October 23, 2025 astatine 9 a.m. ET

• Chief Executive Officer — Mark Hardwick

• President — Michael Stewart

• Chief Financial Officer — Michele Kawiecki

• Chief Credit Officer — John Martin

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Mark Hardwick: Good morning, and invited to First Merchants Third Quarter 2025 Conference Call. Thanks for the instauration and for covering the forward-looking connection connected Page 2. We released our net yesterday aft the marketplace closed, and you tin entree today's slides by pursuing the nexus connected the 3rd leafage of our net release. On Page 3 of our slides, you volition spot today's presenters and our bios, including President, Mike Stewart; Chief Credit Officer, John Martin; and Chief Financial Officer, Michele Kawiecki. Slide 4 has a representation with each 111 banking centers, a fewer awards that we've received precocious and immoderate Q3 fiscal highlights, including a 1.22% instrumentality connected assets for the 9 months ended September 30, 2025.

On Slide 5, our beardown equilibrium expanse and net show reflects spot and resilience of our concern model. We delivered different 9% indebtedness maturation 4th and $0.98 of net per share. ROA totaled 1.22%, the aforesaid arsenic our year-to-date fig I mentioned previously, and the ratio ratio was 55%, which is accordant with the precocious show we strive for. As you each know, we announced the acquisition of First Savings Financial Group connected September 25, adding astir $2.4 cardinal successful assets and expanding our beingness into Southern Indiana, which is portion of the Louisville MSA.

We are assured successful our quality and excited astir gathering connected their meaningful deposit franchise to make a existent assemblage slope successful Southern Indiana, overmuch similar we've done successful erstwhile acquisitions. [indiscernible] Bank successful the Northwest portion of Indiana and IEB successful Fort Wayne are 2 large examples of acquisitions wherever we saw imaginable and successfully built them into high-performing parts of the First Merchants franchise implicit time.

We besides judge the verticals volition beryllium beneficial by enhancing interest income done their originate and merchantability models for SBA loans and archetypal lien HELOCs by adding an further indebtedness maturation and liquidity lever done their triple nett leasing business, and we volition present person an SBA merchandise offering disposable passim our existent footprint. You whitethorn cognize that we person completed $8 cardinal of SBA originations truthful acold successful 2025, portion First Savings has originated implicit $100 million. Our commercialized and tiny concern teams are excited to yet person a much robust offering for our communities.