First Merchants Corporation

First Merchants Bank is seeking Banking Center Managers to join our team! These local leaders focus on developing and implementing sales plans, coaching and developing their team, providing strong managerial leadership and direction to the banking center staff, and overseeing the operational soundness of the banking center. Banking Center Managers embody our vision to enhance the financial wellness of our diverse communities by engaging with their community to build relationships, support local organizations, and be a trusted partner in helping people prosper. If this sounds like the role for you, apply today! • Banking Center Manager (BANKI009640) - Columbus, OH: https://bit.ly/3VVR2pp • Banking Center Manager (BANKI009699) - Wabash (Chippewa): https://bit.ly/3zxjd6F

Nothing brings quite as much stability as homeownership – homes provide safety, financial security, and peace of mind. We’re passionate about helping people achieve the freedoms owning a home can bring -- that’s why we’re a proud Habitat for Humanity partner across our four-state footprint. See how we’re working with Habitat to change lives, one home at a time: https://bit.ly/3xSen3q #finance #homeownership #affordablehousing #mortgage #habitatforhumanity #philanthropy #volunteering

U.S. stocks continued their upward trajectory, closing at all-time highs. The move was supported by a cooler than expected consumer inflation report and sustained corporate earnings momentum. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained last week, up 1.58% and closing above the 40,000 mark. The S&P 500 also drifted higher, adding 0.86%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite continued its strong performance on the year, up 0.25% for the week. Continue reading our Private Wealth Advisors Weekly Investment Perspectives newsletter for July 16, 2024. https://direc.to/kCov #privatewealth #privatewealthmanagement #marketupdates #financialmarkets #economynews #bonds #stocks #markets #investingnews #equities

We're proud to have a team that feels good about where they work. Thanks to employee response to anonymous surveys, First Merchants has again received recognition from Comparably in the Best Career Growth and Best Leadership Team categories. “These awards affirm that our strategic imperatives resonate with our people,” said Chief Human Resources Officer Steve Harris. “We continue to work toward a brand-focused culture of inclusivity, teamwork, career development, total rewards, and work-life balance that produces a “helping you prosper” customer service experience. Our culture contributes to employees better aligning with meaningful work that positively impacts lives. Our people are the core of who our company is and how we make a positive difference in the communities we serve.” Read more about First Merchants' Comparably recognition: https://bit.ly/3Llqk4R

The AI industry is changing almost daily as models advance and new applications are created, more computing power is brought online, and engineers push AI’s capabilities further. Currently, most of the market focus is on the infrastructure build-out required to train the new generation of AI models called large language models (LLMs). In time, the focus will shift more towards the end applications being built with LLMs and which companies are most effectively employing those applications in their operations to drive cost saving efficiencies or new revenue opportunities. Despite an ever-changing landscape, there are still several key economic implications that we believe will persist throughout several market sectors as the AI industry develops. Continue reading: https://direc.to/kD95 #privatewealth #privatewealthmanagement #marketupdates #financialmarkets #economynews #bonds #stocks #markets #investingnews #equities #AI #artificialintelligence #GenerativeAI

U.S. equities pushed higher during last week’s holiday shortened trading as cooling economic data, including a more tepid June jobs report, increased the odds of a September rate cut from the Federal Reserve. For the week, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite marked new record highs following gains of 1.95% and 3.50%, respectively, while the Dow Jones edged 0.6% higher. Large cap tech stocks continued to be the major driver of the stock market rally, which has driven a historic dispersion in returns between U.S. large cap stocks and small cap stocks. In fact, the small cap Russell 2000 index fell -1.0% last week and is now just about flat on the year compared to the S&P 500’s 17.6% year-to-date total return. An equal-weighted version of the S&P 500, which has lower weightings to mega-cap tech stocks than the traditional market-cap weighted S&P 500, is up less than 5% so far this year. Continue reading our Private Wealth Advisors Weekly Investment Perspectives newsletter for July 9, 2024. https://direc.to/kD5D #privatewealth #privatewealthmanagement #marketupdates #financialmarkets #economynews #bonds #stocks #markets #investingnews #equities

When your banking gets complicated, you need someone who can thread the needle. Michelle Clark, Senior Client Relationship Representative at the North Maple banking center in Ann Arbor, recently helped one such client with a Home Equity Line of Credit and a Business Line of Credit. “They had a lot of moving pieces in the mix, in regard to income,” Michelle shared. Michelle kept track of each moving part and made sure the client was kept updated every step of the way. “It was a lot of back and forth, but I knew they’d want to know what was going on, and to not have radio silence from their bank during a major finance event like this, so I tried to keep those lines of communication open,” she explained. In fact, it’s an approach Michelle takes will all of her clients. “I want them to know they have someone they can depend on, who will help them understand what’s happening with their finances,” she explained. “Banking can be complicated, and it can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be anxiety inducing – if you have someone watching your back who can explain the process to you, I think that’s a great opportunity we have as bankers to help ease those worries for our customers.” Michelle’s approach to attentive customer service hasn’t gone unnoticed – she was recently recognized internally because of her compassion, care, and dedication to teamwork.

Happy Fourth of July! Here’s to cookouts, pool parties, time with friends and family, and fabulous fireworks!

U.S. equity markets logged tepid returns last week amid moderating inflation readings and minimal change to the unemployment figures but closed out the first half of the year with robust gains as the S&P 500 returned 15.3%. Additionally, while inflation and corporate earnings data remain at the focal point for investors, the first of two scheduled Presidential debates last Thursday, garnered much talk on both sides of the aisle. For the week, the S&P 500 was down -0.06%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) ended last week also down slightly at -0.08%. Small companies gained ground with the S&P 600 Small-cap Index up 1.21%. Continue reading our Private Wealth Advisors Weekly Investment Perspectives newsletter for July 2, 2024. https://lnkd.in/gpw3t3rS #privatewealth #privatewealthmanagement #marketupdates #financialmarkets #economynews #bonds #stocks #markets #investingnews #equities

Are you a Latino business owner or entrepreneur looking to grow your business? Join First Merchants Bank on July 17 at the East Chicago Public Library for a special bilingual Lunch and Learn event, where we’ll discuss how you can help your business prosper and detail tips on navigating business lending. We hope to see you there! RSVP: Shari Aguilera, 219.228.2272, [email protected] Julián Broggio, MBA Shari Aguilera Alfonso Perez Sotomayor Hussain Bhanpuri #finance #latinobusiness #smallbusiness #latinoowned #lending