First Merchants Smashes Estimates Following CFS Bancorp Acquisition

By Antonio Olivero January 28, 2014, 4:42 p.m. EST 1 Min Read

Community banking

First Merchants in Indiana Issues Debt to Exit SBLF, Pay Off B of A Loan

First Merchants (FRME) in Muncie, Ind., has issued $70 million in debt to pay off a loan from Bank of America (BAC).

By Chris Cumming

November 6
Community banking

First Merchants in Indiana Slides on Margin Compression

Quarterly profit slid at First Merchants Corp (FRME) in Muncie, Ind., as interest income and revenue from loan sales fell.

By Chris Cumming

October 24
Community banking

First Merchants' Profit Rises 23% on Improved Asset Quality, Fees

Fee income and better credit quality helped First Merchants Corp. in Muncie, Ind., beat its second-quarter estimates.

By Chris Cumming

July 25
M&A

First Merchants Had Competition Courting CFS in Indiana

First Merchants (FRME) in Muncie, Ind., had healthy competition in its effort to buy CFS Bancorp (CITZ) in Munster, Ind.

By Paul Davis

July 5
Community banking

First Merchants in Indiana Repays $34M in SBLF Funds

First Merchants (FRME) in Muncie, Ind., has reduced its ties to the Treasury Department's Small Business Lending Fund.

By Chris Cumming

July 3

First Merchants Corporation (FRME) in Muncie, Ind., reported net income Tuesday of $11.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2013, a 10.7% increase from same period in 2012.

Its earnings per share of 34 cents per were eight cents above the estimates of analysts polled by Bloomberg.

First Merchants' results were aided largely by its fourth-quarter acquisition of CFS Bancorp in Munster, Ind. The deal boosted First Merchants' assets by roughly 25%, to $5.4 billion.

Also in the fourth quarter, First Merchants exited the Small Business Lending Fund by paying roughly $34 million to redeem the final 34,000 shares of preferred stock tied to the Treasury Department program.

"Our teams are energized by the closing of the CFS merger on Nov. 12,2013, and we are looking forward to capturing the full earnings impact in our 2014 results. First Merchants president and chief executive Michael Rechin said in a press release Tuesday.

Net interest income for the fourth quarter of 2013 was $41.1 million, up 7.3% increase from the fourth quarter of 2012. Noninterest income was $15.1 million, up 6% year over year, while noninterest expense fell nearly 18%. The net interest margin fell 21 basis points to 3.89%.

First Merchants' provision for loan losses totaled $1 million, down 77.8% from the fourth quarter of 2012.

Antonio Olivero