First Merchants (FRME) 8-K First Merchants Corporation Announces Cash Dividend

N / E / W / S     R / E / L / E / A / S / E

August 22, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact:

David L. Ortega, First Vice President/Director of Investor Relations

765-378-8937

http://www.firstmerchants.com

SOURCE: First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ: FRME), Muncie, Indiana

FIRST MERCHANTS CORPORATION ANNOUNCES CASH DIVIDEND

First Merchants Corporation declared a cash dividend on August 21, 2012 of $0.03 per share, payable on September 17, 2012, to shareholders of record on September 4, 2012.  For purposes of broker trading, the ex-date of the cash dividend is August 30, 2012.

About First Merchants Corporation:

First Merchants Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. The Corporation is comprised of First Merchants Bank, N.A., which also operates as Lafayette Bank & Trust, Commerce National Bank, and First Merchants Trust Company as divisions of First Merchants Bank, N.A.  First Merchants Corporation also operates First Merchants Insurance Group, a full-service property casualty, personal lines, and healthcare insurance agency.

First Merchants Corporation’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market System under the symbol FRME. Quotations are carried in daily newspapers and can be found on the company’s Internet web page (http://www.firstmerchants.com).

* * * *