Good morning. Welcome to First Merchants Corporation's 2026 annual shareholders meeting. The material referenced during this meeting is located at the site you used to join today's meeting. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Jean Wojtowicz, Chair of the Board of Directors of First Merchants. Please go ahead.
Thank you, good morning, everyone. On behalf of the entire Board, our officers, and employees, I would like to thank you for attending our virtual annual meeting of shareholders for First Merchants Corporation. At today's meeting, following the introduction of the members of our Board of Directors, CEO Mark Hardwick will provide some comments on our 2025 performance, followed by the formal portion of our annual meeting. I would encourage shareholders who haven't already done so to complete their voting. At the conclusion of our meeting today, we will address any questions our shareholders have submitted in the question box on your computer screen and any questions that may have been submitted prior to the meeting. I would like to start by introducing our directors. In addition to myself, our directors are Michael Becher, retired Managing Partner, Deloitte. Susan Brooks, attorney and former U.S. representative.
Mung Chiang, President, Purdue University. Michael Fisher, President and Chief Operating Officer, Ball Brothers Foundation. Howard Halderman, President, Halderman Farm Management. Mark Hardwick, Chief Executive Officer, First Merchants Corporation and First Merchants Bank. Kevin Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation. Clark Kellogg, CBS Sports basketball commentator. Larry Myers, retired President and Chief Executive Officer, First Savings Financial Group. Michael Rechin, retired President and Chief Executive Officer, First Merchants Corporation. Jason Sondhi, Chief Executive Officer, Exos IT. Now I will turn the meeting over to CEO Mark Hardwick. Mark?
Thanks, Jean. Good morning. First Merchants delivered record full-year performance in 2025, achieving double-digit earnings and high single-digit loan growth. Record full-year results include net income available to common shareholders of $224.1 million and diluted earnings per share of $3.88 for 2025. Our capital, liquidity, and credit positions remain very strong and position us for continued success. The completion of the First Savings Bank acquisition in February further enhances our statewide Indiana presence. We value the continued trust of our clients, teammates, and our shareholders. I will now turn the meeting over to Brian Hunt, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, to present voting proposals and conduct the formal business portion of our meeting today. Brian?
Thank you, Mark, and good morning. Our notice of meeting and proxy statement were mailed on April 1st, 2026, to all shareholders. There are present by proxy this morning a sufficient number of voting shares of the company to constitute a quorum. Accordingly, this meeting is called to order. At this time, any shareholders who have not already submitted a proxy and wish to vote their shares may do so by clicking the Vote Here button on your screen. The three proposals to be considered at this meeting are as follows. First, the following have been nominated to serve a term of one year on the company's board of directors. Susan W. Brooks, Mung Chiang, Michael J. Fisher, F. Howard Halderman, Kevin D. Johnson, Clark C. Kellogg, Larry W. Myers, Michael C. Rechin, and Jean L. Wojtowicz.
The second proposal is to approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of the company's named executive officers. The final proposal is to ratify the appointment of the firm Forvis Mazars, LLP as the independent auditor for 2026. While we allow time for shareholders who haven't already done so to complete their voting, I'd like to remind you that some of the statements made at this meeting may be considered forward-looking. We urge you to review the cautionary statements and other information contained in the company's filings with the SEC, including our annual report on Form 10-K for 2025. Copies of the 10-K and other filings are available through the company or online. In addition, the minutes of last year's annual meeting have been prepared by the secretary and are available for shareholder review.
Now that you have had the opportunity to vote, I hereby declare that the polls are closed. The preliminary results of the voting, based on ballots counted by our inspector of elections, American Election Services, LLC, are as follows. All of the director nominees standing for election at today's annual meeting have received more than a majority of the shares voted and are hereby elected. On an advisory basis, the compensation of the company's named executive officers is approved. Finally, Forvis Mazars, LLP is approved as the independent auditor for 2026. The final tabulation of these votes will appear in our Form 8-K to be filed with the SEC. This concludes the business portion of our 2026 annual shareholders meeting. I will now turn the meeting back to our chair for closing remarks. Jean?
Thank you, Brian. We will open the meeting for our shareholder questions. This concludes this year's annual meeting of shareholders. We thank you for your continued interest and investment in First Merchants and very much appreciate your trust in us. We are adjourned.
This now concludes the meeting. Thank you for joining, and have a pleasant day.