Two mortgage bankers acquire a community bank
In 1990, Michael Petrie and Randall Rogers set out to build a mortgage business around multifamily housing. They had met as bankers in Indianapolis; Petrie wanted to concentrate on lending for apartment projects, and Rogers joined him. Their company, originally PR Mortgage and Investments and now Merchants Capital, became the starting point for a much larger banking group. The founders’ interest in buildings and their financing, rather than a large branch network, still shapes the institution today. [3][4]
In 2002, they bought Greensfork Township State Bank, a small Indiana community bank. The purchase added personal banking to the mortgage business. The insured institution itself was older: the FDIC records June 23, 1923 as the establishment date of certificate 8056. Thus 1990 marks the founders’ mortgage enterprise, 2002 their acquisition of a bank, and 1923 the bank charter’s origin. These are different milestones in one developing story. [1][3]
The acquisition of Indianapolis-based Symphony Bank in 2009 expanded the retail operation into central Indiana. The company’s history links that transaction to the Merchants Bank of Indiana name. Today the bank is based in Carmel and is the wholly owned banking subsidiary of Merchants Bancorp, the separately incorporated parent. Michael Dunlap leads the bank as president and chief executive; Petrie leads the parent as chairman and chief executive. [1][3][4]
A financial-crisis opening in mortgage finance
The same year, 2009, produced a more consequential choice than a new sign above a branch. Merchants entered mortgage warehouse lending when other providers were leaving the market. Its annual report describes the decision as a response to market dislocation. Independent mortgage companies still needed money to close customers’ home loans before those loans could be sold to longer-term investors. Merchants stepped into that gap. [3][4]
A supplies that short-term financing. A mortgage company originates a loan and uses the bank’s funding to complete it; an approved investor subsequently purchases the mortgage, allowing the temporary financing to be repaid. Merchants secures these facilities with residential or multifamily mortgages that must meet its underwriting standards and relevant program requirements. The money can then finance another loan, so annual funding volume is much larger than the amount outstanding on a single date. [4]
The group’s warehouse segment funded $66.3 billion of loan principal in 2025, up from $45.6 billion in 2024. These are annual flows through a financing business, not the bank’s total assets or a promise that every funded mortgage remains on its books. Mortgage companies also keep corporate and custodial deposits with Merchants, connecting the lending service to an important source of funding. [4]
Following an apartment loan beyond the closing
The original apartment-finance business developed a complementary path. Merchants Capital Corporation, a bank subsidiary, originates financing for rental housing and healthcare properties. Some projects need bank loans while they are being acquired, built or repositioned; others can move into longer-term mortgage programs. In plain terms, the bank can provide a bridge while a property reaches the stage at which a permanent financing arrangement is available. [4]
The group says many fixed-rate loans in its multifamily mortgage-banking operation are sold through agency mortgage-backed securities within approximately 30 days, while servicing rights are usually retained. Servicing means continuing to administer payments and related accounts after a loan is sold. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are among the programs involved. Loan sales generate fees and release funding for new lending; servicing generates continuing income and associated deposit balances. [4]
The bank also retains loans, particularly adjustable-rate credits, and serves ordinary customers through residential mortgages, business loans, agricultural lending and small-business programs. Merchants Mortgage, launched in 2014, is a branded division of the bank rather than a separate insured institution. The 2025 annual report lists seven deposit-taking branches in Indiana, alongside national mortgage operations. A modest physical footprint therefore sits beneath a much wider financing business. [3][4]
Public capital and the limits of the model
The founders’ enterprise reached the public stock market in 2017 through an initial offering of Merchants Bancorp shares. The company says the offering supported further expansion. Shareholders bought an interest in the parent; customers continued depositing money and borrowing at the bank. The distinction matters when the parent reports consolidated profits from several related businesses. [3][4]
Selling mortgages can reduce the time that funds remain tied up, but it does not make every loan or relationship risk-free. A project being financed must still work economically, a buyer must complete the purchase, and the lender must manage the cash needed between those stages. Merchants’ own annual report describes its reliance on mortgage markets, the credit quality of borrowers and the value of servicing rights. These are different exposures from simply holding a fixed-rate home mortgage for decades. [4]
The 2026 rebound includes a credit-loss story
On July 28, 2026, Merchants Bancorp reported second-quarter net income of $78.3 million, compared with $38.0 million a year earlier. The largest contributor to that improvement was a $43.8 million reduction in the provision for credit losses, the expense used to build reserves for expected losses. Revenue growth alone does not explain the doubling of profit. These figures cover the consolidated parent, not just the insured bank. [5]
The release reported $16.5 million of and $4.8 million of recoveries during the quarter. Almost 95% of the charge-offs involved two multifamily loan relationships. Nonperforming loans fell to $205.6 million from the preceding quarter, but those specific losses show how the business can encounter trouble even when aggregate results improve. The company also reported a June credit-default-swap transaction covering a $169.9 million multifamily loan pool, another step in its continuing effort to transfer part of its credit exposure. [5]
The insured bank at June 30, 2026
FDIC financials put Merchants Bank of Indiana’s assets at $21.171 billion, deposits at $14.342 billion, net loans and leases at $17.286 billion, and equity at $2.322 billion on June 30, 2026. Net income of $150.953 million covers the first six months, rather than the second quarter alone. Dollar amounts here are converted from the FDIC’s thousands-of-dollars fields. [2]
The FDIC total-loan measure is not interchangeable with the parent release’s narrower $12.3 billion of net loans receivable: the release separately discusses loans held for sale and mortgage loans being securitized. That distinction is especially important for a bank built to move mortgages through several stages. Its enduring story is the combination of a local deposit-taking institution with the machinery that connects property borrowers, mortgage companies and longer-term funding. [2][5]
Sources
- FDIC institution directory, October 2, 2026 index; reviewed October 5Official sourceBack to text: ↑1↑2
- FDIC June 30, 2026 bank financials; dollar fields in thousands; income year to dateOfficial sourceBack to text: ↑1↑2
- Merchants Bank official history; reviewed October 5, 2026SourceBack to text: ↑1↑2↑3↑4↑5↑6
- Merchants Bancorp 2025 Form 10-K, filed February 27, 2026Filing / reportBack to text: ↑1↑2↑3↑4↑5↑6↑7↑8↑9↑10↑11
- Merchants Bancorp second-quarter results, July 28, 2026; consolidated group figuresSourceBack to text: ↑1↑2↑3