A fifth generation takes the lead
Centier Bank entered a new leadership chapter in February 2026. After 53 years of service, Mike Schrage stepped aside from the chief-executive role, and president Chris Campbell, his son-in-law, assumed those responsibilities. The bank described the change as the result of a multiyear succession plan and a transition to the fifth generation of Schrage-family leadership. Its continued-independence promise is a stated family and management commitment; it is not a legal guarantee that ownership or strategy can never change. [1]
A Whiting charter with a wider Indiana identity
The FDIC records Centier Bank’s establishment on April 21, 1895 and its main-office city as Whiting, Indiana, under certificate 12854. It is an active state-chartered nonmember bank whose primary federal regulator is the FDIC. The bank’s own history ties its origins and continuing ownership to the Schrage family. A separately published company announcement identifies First Bancshares, Inc. of Merrillville, Indiana as the bank’s holding company. The financial figures here belong to the insured bank, not a consolidated family enterprise. [2] [3] [4]
Financing the needs of an operating business
Centier’s commercial menu includes term loans, revolving credit and letters of credit. Those tools serve different purposes: equipment and property can require longer repayment periods, seasonal operations can need short-term cash, and a supplier may require a bank-supported payment commitment. The bank advertises middle-market financing from $1 million to more than $115 million, subject to the actual arrangement and credit decision. The published range is an offered capability rather than evidence of the average loan size or a promise that every borrower qualifies. [5]
Mortgage finance reaches beyond Indiana branches
A second business reaches lenders nationally. Centier’s warehouse program advertises lines from $3 million to $300 million, online advance requests, reporting and possible same-day funding. Warehouse credit supplies temporary cash to a mortgage company before its newly originated loan is sold onward. That makes turnover and the reliability of the next buyer important alongside the mortgage collateral. The July 2025 appointment of Tom Connally to lead the division explicitly described its clients as nonbank residential mortgage companies across the country. Neither release quantifies the division’s June 2026 balances. [6] [7]
More deposits and lending, slightly lower income
Assets passed $10 billion in the June 2026 bank snapshot. Deposits increased to $8.787 billion from $7.960 billion, and net loans reached $8.011 billion. First-half net income declined modestly to $78.691 million. The noncurrent-loan ratio rose to 0.82% from 0.13%, while gross real-estate-secured loans were $4.787 billion. The reported categories do not separately identify every advertised specialty, so the balance-sheet growth cannot simply be assigned to warehouse lending. [8]
Scroll horizontally to see all columns.
| Bank-only measure | June 2026 | June 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Assets | $10,411.663 million | $9,834.967 million |
| Deposits | $8,786.698 million | $7,960.250 million |
| Net loans | $8,010.522 million | $7,676.757 million |
| Book equity | $1,026.233 million | $902.275 million |
| Net income, January–June | $78.691 million | $80.636 million |
Funding growth included more than local checking
At June 2026, Centier reported $897.709 million in brokered deposits and $285 million of Federal Home Loan Bank advances; the latter had been $715 million a year earlier. Noninterest-bearing deposits were $1.440 billion. The annualized net ratio was 0.08%, up from 0.02%, and common-equity Tier 1 capital was 12.85%. Brokered deposits are a funding channel, not by themselves a finding of financial trouble. The figures show why family ownership and local branding alone do not describe the entire funding structure. [9]
Treasury services connect the borrowing and deposit sides
Centier’s treasury offering includes remote check capture, lockbox collections, electronic payments, wire transfers and cash-management reporting. A business using those functions may keep balances to support payroll, customer collections and other operating needs. That connection is the economic logic of relationship banking, although the product page does not measure how sticky those deposits actually are. The bank also advertises controls for check and electronic-payment fraud; those controls should not be read as an unconditional promise against losses. [10]
Family continuity meets a changing balance sheet
Family ownership and the leadership transition describe continuity of control. They do not explain the bank’s changing credit quality or earnings. Subsequent financial reporting can clarify whether June’s higher noncurrent-loan ratio is temporary or sustained. [3] [1]
Sources
- Centier Bank: fifth-generation leadership transition, February 6, 2026SourceBack to text: ↑1↑2
- FDIC institution directory: certificate 12854, October 2, 2026 indexOfficial sourceBack to text: ↑
- Centier Bank: family history and ownershipSourceBack to text: ↑1↑2
- Centier Bank: First Bancshares parent identity, June 2, 2023SourceBack to text: ↑
- Centier Bank: commercial lending and financingSourceBack to text: ↑
- Centier Bank: mortgage warehouse lending terms, reviewed October 6, 2026SourceBack to text: ↑
- Centier Bank: national warehouse-lending leadership appointment, July 22, 2025SourceBack to text: ↑
- FDIC bank-only financials: certificate 12854, June 30, 2026 and June 30, 2025; dollar fields in thousandsOfficial sourceBack to text: ↑
- FDIC bank-only funding and capital: certificate 12854, June 30, 2026 and June 30, 2025Official sourceBack to text: ↑
- Centier Bank: treasury-management servicesSourceBack to text: ↑