Business Description

First Merchants Corporation (the “Corporation”) is a financial holding company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana and was organized in September 1982. The Corporation’s common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market System under the symbol FRME. The Corporation has one full-service bank charter, First Merchants Bank, which opened for business in Muncie, Indiana in March 1893. The Bank also operates First Merchants Private Wealth Advisors (a division of First Merchants Bank). The Bank includes 111 banking locations in Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. In addition to its branch network, the Corporation offers comprehensive electronic and mobile delivery channels to its customers. The Corporation’s business activities are currently limited to one significant business segment, which is community banking. Through the Bank, the Corporation offers a broad range of commercial and consumer banking services to meet the diverse needs of our customers. Our commercial banking team offers a full spectrum of debt capital, treasury management services and depository products. The consumer banking group offers a variety of consumer deposit and lending products. The mortgage banking team offers consumer mortgage solutions to assist with the purchase, refinance, construction or renovation of residential properties. Private Wealth Advisors offers personal wealth management services with expertise in investment management, private banking, fiduciary estate and financial planning. All inter-company transactions are eliminated during the preparation of consolidated financial statements. As of December 31, 2025, the Corporation had consolidated asse ts of $19.0 billion, consolidated deposits of $15.3 billion and stockholders’ equity of $2.5 billion. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTS On February 1, 2026, the Corporation completed the acquisition of First Savings Financial Group, Inc., an Indiana corporation (“First Savings”), pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of September 24, 2025, by and between the Corporation and First Savings (the “Merger Agreement”). Immediately following the Merger, First Savings Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of First Savings, merged with and into the Bank, with the Bank surviving the merger and continuing its corporate existence. First Savings was headquartered in Jeffersonville, Indiana and had 16 banking centers serving the southern Indiana market and had total assets of $2.4 billion (unaudited), total loans of $1.9 billion (unaudited), and total deposits of $1.7 billion (unaudited) as of December 31, 2025. The Corporation engaged in this transaction with the objective that the transaction would be accretive to earnings and add to the existing market area in Indiana that has a demographic profile consistent with many of the current Midwest markets served by the Bank. For the year ended December 31, 2025, the Corporation recorded merger-related expenses of $0.8 million related to the First Savings acquisition. For additional information regarding the acquisition, see NOTE 2. ACQUISITIONS AND DIVESTITURES of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition, the Merger Agreement is filed as an exhibit to this Annual Report on Form 10-K.