First Merchants Bank (Muncie, IN) is headquartered in Muncie and is the 2nd largest bank in the state of Indiana. It is also the 109th largest bank in the nation. It was established in 1893 and as of June of 2022, it had grown to 2,173 employees at 127 locations. First Merchants Bank (Muncie, IN)'s money market rates are 7X the national average, and it boasts an A+ health rating.
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Arlington Bank bought out by First Merchants Bank
I had an account at Arlington Bank before they merged with First Merchant Bank. It was a small community bank where everyone knew everyone. It was easy to set up checking accounts and handle transactions in a timely manner. I had a checking and savings account with them. Now, since they have changed hands, I'm not exactly sure what their new goals are or how they changed. It was a positive experience working with Arlington Bank and adds to the hometown feel cities need to keep adopting instead of throwing away.
A small local bank got worse as it got bigger
I started banking with them when it was called Cooper State Bank, which was locally owned in my city, with only a small handful of branches. They were the only bank that had very generous weekend hours, including being open for about four hours on Sundays. Due to my weird working schedule, this was the primary reason I signed up with them. Their staff was incredibly friendly and helpful, and I never had to spend more than a few moments inside to get stuff done. I am just a normal working class guy, but they still took it upon themselves to address me by name when I walked in, which made me feel at home. I had an experience with debit card fraud once, and they helped me resolve it incredibly quickly, to the point where the money was back in my account (provisionally) the next day. There were no hoops to jump through, just twenty minutes of filling out some paperwork and a brief chat with the branch manager, who not only got my money back, but gave me some tips on how to avoid this kind of problem in the future.
My savings account minimum balance is only $100, and there is no minimum on my free personal checking account. They offer CDs at pretty standard rates. I have not used any of their business services, but would feel confident with them.
However, they were acquired by a larger firm based out of a different state, called First Merchants Bank. Once this acquisition happened, some of the staff with whom I had become very familiar were replaced, and the bank changed its hours so that it was no longer open on the weekends. I have stayed with them because of their proximity to my home, and just because I am already set up through them and don't want the hassle of going elsewhere at this point. But this acquisition kind of ruined the two things (personal relations with employees, and weekend hours) that were the biggest selling points of the bank.
Party Like It's 1985
I refi'd this spring with a 2.25% rate. That's fantastic, but if I'd known what a headache it would be to *pay them*, I'd have taken a higher rate elsewhere. I'm still considering refinancing AGAIN just to get away from them.
- They can't autodraft my payment from my Huntington account. They blame Huntington. Odd, the refi for my other property completed in January manages to autodraft it just fine. As do my credit cards, etc. Only First Merchants can't get past this. They keep pulling the payment and then issuing a reversal and telling me I'm overdue.
- They can't ACH my Huntington account, either, though they told me they could and sent a form for me to do so.
- I finally used bill pay from my Huntington account to send them $1100. Nowhere on the site can I see that that $1100 payment posted, though they swear it did. Even the customer service agent said, "I could look at this list of transactions all day and they wouldn't make any sense to me." Great. How are they supposed to make sense to ME, then?
- I got an email saying payments weren't working and I was overdue, but when I call, they tell me I'm current. They say they've been mailing me statements, but I haven't gotten a single one from them. That department said they couldn't sign me up for e-statements, but they would transfer me to a department that could.
- Surprise! That department says they don't do e-statements for mortgages AT ALL. In 2021. So God forbid I would want to use money management software for transactions or something; there's zero chance of that.
If you want a bank that's living in this century, First Merchants is not for you.
Don't Bank Here!
I tried to open an account 6 months ago, but they couldn't figure how to get online access for me so I closed it. They are now threatening to report me to the credit agencies if I don't deposit $6.61 in my account. I just can't even! Very poor business ethics
One Of The Worst Banks Ever
I have been a MBT member for 16 years and had my mortgage through them when I moved to Monroe. I had no issues up until they became FMB...I'd like to tell you what I really think that stands for but if I do, I'm sure I'll get deleted. The past two years since MBT was sold the service has sucked and their banking app is Making random mistakes and payments I never authorized!!!
This was all within about a year. First I noticed one bill was double paid, no big deal, it wasn't that much and I brushed it off. Second time...my mortgage was sold. I switched to the new bank in the app and deleted the old one. Well the idiots still paid the old bank! I asked what happened and explained I deleted the original bank. They said oh, you need to delete the payee on the website!!! Seriously??? Thanks for telling me, why don't you put a message in the app when you delete a payee that it must be deleted on the website!!! They were no help. Finally the last straw happened today. I decided to check my online account for a deposit, what do I find? I have a negative 8400 balance!!! I'm freaking out so I check my transactions and I see the app made a payment to my Visa for 8260 I did not authorize! They tell me oh I probably just put in a wrong amount There! The correct payment amount of 1400 was made 3 days before for 1400. How could I possibly created and approve this transaction.. it is impossible!!! I called the mobile bank help and they say we can open a ticket for you. Mind you this is December 14, I now have no money for bills, Christmas presents, or my vacation to Florida! I'm told I need to go to the branch and they should be able to close the account and open a new one so I don't lose my paycheck and bonus which the bank will take immediately because I have a negative balance. I asked can you please close it, nope they need it paid off. It's going to take months to get out of this hole!!!!! I have been a member for 16 years and they treated me like absolute SH!T!!! DO NOT USE FMB FOR ANYTHING AS THEY ARE THE WORST BANK I HAVE EVER HAD!!! If I could give a negative star I would.
Oh I forgot to add this. Even though I was way short of the amount needed to cover the payment they still sent it. It was rejected once for NSF which would have saved me but what do these idiots do...they put it through again so it gets accepted!!! Oh and now I have 5 $37 fees because I don't have the money to cover monthly bills. How absolutely messed up is this!!! AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!!!
Would NOT Recommend This Bank
Received very poor service on existing commercial loan.
Customer service reps on phone used pleasant scripted responses but on multiple occassions during the middle of a business day were unable to reach a loan officer for me. I left numerous voice mail requests for assistance. All went unanswered.
Overall opinion: This bank made thousands of dollars in interest from me over the years but could not even one time extend the simple courtesy of answering a request for service. Instead I received a form letter generated by a computer.
Lack Of Compassion
I realize that I cannot mention names, so I will rewrite my original review that was deleted. In my opinion, the branch manager in the Harvey office and the Retail Regional VP lack consideration and compassion for its customers.
They are not providing their customers in certain banks and location all the facts when a customer asks a legitimate question.
Many employees provide excellent customer service. Others do not. Please try to file legitimate complaints if you feel you are being mistreated by a bank representative!
Choose Any Other Bank.
If only I could rate with zero stars, I would. They just took over a great local, community bank called iAB. I have had more problems with First Merchants in a month than I have had with banks ever.
-First they had us verify our contact info, which we did. When the merger was complete, suddenly the contact info is wrong.
-Second, if you want to use an app, good luck figuring out who gets the app as you can only have one app per account.
-Third, you cannot us Chrome because there is a known glitch.
-Customer service isn't great either.
Time to find a better bank. Which could be any other bank in the country.
Data as of Q2 2022
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| FDIC Certificate # | 4365 |
| Year Established | 1893 |
| Employees | 2173 |
| Primary Regulator | FDIC |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 1.14% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 9.71% |
| Annual Interest Income | $250.7MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q2 2022vs Q2 2021 | $17.76B$14.90B |
| Loans | Q2 2022vs Q2 2021 | $11.18B$8.94B |
| Deposits | Q2 2022vs Q2 2021 | $14.62B$12.30B |
| Equity Capital | Q2 2022vs Q2 2021 | $2.06B$1.88B |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q2 2022vs Q2 2021 | $226.3MM$199.8MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q2 2022vs Q2 2021 | $44.5MM$56.1MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q2 2022vs Q2 2021 | $6.5MM$601.00K |
