First Merchants (FRME) Newsfilter·2025-01-30 13:00Core Insights - First Merchants Corporation reported a strong fourth quarter for 2024, with significant increases in net income, core earnings, net interest margin (NIM), and return on assets (ROA) [2][3]. Financial Performance - The net income available to common stockholders for Q4 2024 was 42.0 million in Q4 2023, resulting in diluted earnings per share of 0.71 in the previous year [3][11]. - Adjusted net income, excluding non-core items, was 1.00 per share, compared to 0.90 in Q4 2023 [3][11]. - Net interest income for the quarter was 42.7 million, a significant increase of 16.3 million from Q4 2023 [10][11]. Asset and Loan Growth - Total assets at the end of Q4 2024 were 12.9 billion, representing a year-over-year growth of 185.6 million or 5.9% annualized on a linked quarter basis, primarily driven by commercial loans [5][11]. Deposit Trends - Total deposits were 299.8 million or 2.0% year-over-year, largely due to the sale of Illinois branches [7][11]. - Excluding the impact of branch sales, deposits declined by 156.5 million or 4.4% annualized on a linked quarter basis [7][11]. Credit Quality - The allowance for credit losses on loans was 0.8 million, with a provision for loans of $5.7 million recorded [8][11]. Capital Position - The Corporation maintained a strong capital position with a Common Equity Tier 1 Capital Ratio of 11.43% and a Tangible Common Equity to Tangible Assets Ratio of 8.81% [11][12].