First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (FSFG): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

When you look at a regional bank like First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (FSFG), are you seeing a stable community lender or a strategic acquisition target poised for a major exit? For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, First Savings Financial Group reported a net income of $23.2 million, translating to diluted earnings per share of $3.32, a significant jump that challenges the narrative of persistent regional bank pressure. Considering their total assets stand at approximately $2.4 billion and their net profit margin surged to 27.1%, you have to ask: what operational engine drove this performance just before the announced $241.3 million merger with First Merchants Corporation? Let's break down the history, mission, and how this Indiana-based institution actually makes its money.

First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (FSFG) History

You're looking for the bedrock of First Savings Financial Group, Inc., and the core takeaway is that its current strength comes from a long history as a community bank, which then used a strategic 2008 public offering to fuel a decade of targeted expansion, culminating in a major 2025 merger. This journey shows a clear, disciplined growth strategy that leveraged local roots for regional scale.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

Year established

The roots of the operating entity, First Savings Bank, trace back to the establishment of a savings and loan in 1934. The holding company, First Savings Financial Group, Inc., was formally incorporated in 2008 to facilitate its conversion to a stock organization and its subsequent Initial Public Offering (IPO). This is a defintely common structure for community banks seeking capital.

Original location

The company's primary market and historical base have always been in Southern Indiana, with the current headquarters located in Jeffersonville, Indiana. The holding company was incorporated in Indiana.

Founding team members

Specific details on the original 1934 founding team are not readily available, which is typical for institutions of that age. The modern era of the company, however, has been steered by key executives like President and CEO Larry W. Myers, who has been instrumental in its growth and the recent strategic decisions up to November 2025. He joined the Bank in 1988.

Initial capital/funding

Initial capital details from the 1934 founding are not public. The first major capital event for the modern entity was its IPO on October 7, 2008, which provided the capital base for its expansion and conversion to a fully public stock company (NASDAQ: FSFG).

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The company's trajectory has been defined by three core transformations: the move to public ownership, the disciplined acquisition strategy, and the final strategic merger. You can see the impact of this strategy in the 2025 fiscal year results, where net income rose significantly.

The 2008 IPO was the single most important decision, converting the bank's structure and unlocking the capital needed for its growth phase. This move allowed the bank to transition from a purely local entity to a regional player with national lending programs, specifically in SBA lending and single-tenant net lease commercial real estate. You need capital to scale, and the IPO provided it.

The strategic acquisitions in the following years weren't just about adding branches; they were about securing market dominance in key Southern Indiana counties. This focus led to a strong financial performance, with fiscal year 2025 (ending September 30, 2025) reporting net income of $23.2 million, a sharp increase from the previous year's $13.6 million. Here's the quick math: that's a 70.6% increase in net income year-over-year. Diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS) also jumped from $1.98 to $3.32 in the same period.

• Public Conversion (2008): Provided the capital base to expand beyond traditional community banking.
• Strategic Acquisitions (2009, 2012): Consolidated market share in Southern Indiana, which is how they grew net interest income by 12.5% to $65.3 million in fiscal year 2025.
• 2025 Merger Agreement: The definitive agreement announced in September 2025 to be acquired by First Merchants Corporation for an implied value of approximately $230 million marks the capstone of this strategy, delivering significant shareholder value.

The merger, expected to close in 2026, is the ultimate realization of the value created since the 2008 IPO. For a deeper dive into the company's financial standing leading up to this event, you should check Breaking Down First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (FSFG) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors. What this estimate hides, however, is the integration risk and the potential for employee attrition, but the implied premium speaks to the quality of the franchise built over the decades.

First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (FSFG) Ownership Structure

First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (FSFG) is a publicly traded company, but its ownership structure is notably concentrated, with insiders holding a significant stake that gives them considerable control over the company's strategic direction.

This high insider ownership means that the interests of the executive team and board are defintely aligned with long-term shareholder value, but it can also limit the influence of outside institutional investors.

First Savings Financial Group, Inc.'s Current Status

First Savings Financial Group, Inc. is a Public company, trading on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the ticker symbol FSFG.

As of late 2025, the company's market capitalization stood at approximately $219 million, based on roughly 6.98 million shares outstanding.

The company operates as the holding company for First Savings Bank, focusing on Core Banking and SBA Lending segments, primarily serving southern Indiana.

First Savings Financial Group, Inc.'s Ownership Breakdown

The company's control is a balance between institutional funds and a large block held by insiders, which is not typical for a small-cap bank holding company.

Here's the quick math on who holds the equity as of 2025:

Insiders hold over a quarter of the stock, which is a powerful block. The largest individual shareholder is the President and CEO, Larry W. Myers, who directly owns 10.82% of the company, a stake valued at approximately $22.58 million.

First Savings Financial Group, Inc.'s Leadership

The organization is steered by a seasoned management team with an average tenure of over a decade, which provides operational stability but also means a long-established strategic perspective.

The key executive and board members driving the strategy and governance as of November 2025 include:

• Larry W. Myers: President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He also serves on the Board of Directors.
• Tony Schoen (Anthony A. Schoen): Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He is also an Executive Vice President.
• Jackie Journell (Jacqueline R. Journell): Executive Vice President - Chief Operating Officer (COO).
• Douglas A. York, CPA: Chair of the First Savings Bank's Board. His background as a Certified Public Accountant is key for the audit committee.
• John E. Colin: Independent Chairman of the Board for First Savings Financial Group, Inc.

Understanding the leadership's focus is crucial for investors; you can find their detailed strategic goals here: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (FSFG).

First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (FSFG) Mission and Values

You're looking past the quarterly earnings report to understand the cultural DNA of First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (FSFG), and that's smart. The company's mission centers on creating a higher quality of life for all stakeholders, not just profit, while its vision is a straightforward goal: to be the best community bank.

This community-first approach is defintely working. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, FSFG reported net income of $23.2 million, a significant jump from the prior year, showing that strong community ties can translate directly to shareholder value. [cite: 2 (from first search)]

First Savings Financial Group's Core Purpose

A bank's true purpose is often found in the non-financial statements-the promises they make to the people they serve. FSFG, a holding company with $1.7 Billion in assets, operates as a community bank in Southern Indiana, so its core purpose is tightly woven into local economic health.

Here's the quick math on why this matters: if their core banking segment helps local small businesses secure capital, those businesses thrive, which in turn strengthens the bank's loan portfolio and deposit base. This cycle helped the company generate a total revenue of $83.83 million in 2025. [cite: 1 (from first search)]

Official mission statement

The mission statement is a clear declaration of their commitment to a broad group of beneficiaries, mapping out their cultural priorities beyond just the bottom line.

• As a well respected community leader and symbol of trust, our mission is to create a higher quality of life for our customers, our employees, our community and our shareholders. [cite: 8 (from second search)]

What this estimate hides is the tangible impact: for instance, FSFG's Charitable Foundation focuses on Financial Literacy, which is a direct investment in the community's future financial health. [cite: 8 (from second search)]

Vision statement

The vision is ambitious but concise. It's a clean one-liner that drives daily operations across its fifteen depository branches in Southern Indiana.

• We Expect To Be The BEST community BANK.

This goal fuels the drive for an exceptional, personalized experience, which is crucial in a competitive banking landscape. You can see their full cultural framework here: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (FSFG).

First Savings Financial Group's Core Values

FSFG's core values, which they call their 'Philosophy,' translate the mission into actionable behaviors for their employees. They prioritize a blend of ethical conduct, customer care, and internal collaboration.

• Conduct business with integrity, respect, honesty, privacy and in the highest ethical standards. [cite: 8 (from second search)]
• Be accountable for actions and responsible in delivering exceptional service. [cite: 8 (from second search)]
• Encourage an environment that supports teamwork, collaboration and cooperation. [cite: 8 (from second search)]
• Deliver profitability for shareholder value, employee morale, and customer confidence. [cite: 8 (from second search)]

First Savings Financial Group slogan/tagline

While the bank itself doesn't use a single, ubiquitous slogan, its powerful SBA Lending division, which is a major revenue stream, uses a phrase that captures the entrepreneurial spirit of the entire organization.

• Making More Possible.

That tagline isn't just marketing; it's the practical application of their vision, especially in the national lending programs, like single-tenant net lease commercial real estate, where they apply a custom approach to complex finance.

First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (FSFG) How It Works

First Savings Financial Group, Inc. operates as a community-focused bank holding company, primarily generating revenue by attracting local deposits and then originating a diversified portfolio of loans to individuals and small businesses in southern Indiana and the Louisville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Its core model is classic spread banking, where it profits from the difference between interest earned on loans and interest paid on deposits, plus fees from specialized lending and wealth management.

First Savings Financial Group, Inc.'s Product/Service Portfolio

First Savings Financial Group, Inc.'s Operational Framework

The company's operations are segmented, focusing on Core Banking and SBA Lending, following a strategic shift in 2024 to exit the cyclical mortgage banking business and prioritize stable deposit growth. This framework is designed to optimize the net interest margin (NIM) and control costs.

• Funding Loans with Core Deposits: The bank attracts deposits-checking, savings, and time deposits-from the general public in its local market. It uses these funds, which are a lower-cost source of capital, to originate loans. This is the defintely the heart of their spread-banking model.
• Specialized Lending Units: The SBA Lending segment operates with a national reach, leveraging expertise in government-guaranteed loans to generate high-yield assets that are often sold into the secondary market for fee income, plus they retain servicing rights.
• Efficiency and Cost Control: For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, the company reported a notable decrease in its efficiency ratio to 67.69%, down from 74.92% in the prior year, showing improved cost management relative to revenue growth.
• Profitability Metrics: The focus on core operations drove net interest income up 12.5% to $65.3 million for the 2025 fiscal year, with the tax-equivalent NIM reaching 2.94%. This is how they make money: widen the spread and manage non-interest expenses.

First Savings Financial Group, Inc.'s Strategic Advantages

The company's market success hinges on a blend of deep local roots and specialized national lending expertise, which creates a competitive edge over larger regional banks that lack the same community focus.

• Community-Oriented Focus: A long-standing presence in southern Indiana and the Louisville MSA allows for local decision-making and strong relationship banking, which helps attract stable, low-cost core deposits from individuals and small businesses.
• High-Growth SBA Platform: The national SBA lending business acts as a high-margin diversifier, offsetting potential geographic concentration risk and providing a steady stream of non-interest income from loan sales and servicing fees.
• Strong 2025 Profitability: The company's financial performance in FY 2025 is a clear advantage, with net income increasing significantly to $23.2 million, or $3.32 per diluted share. This capital accretion strengthens their balance sheet for future growth or acquisition.
• Merger Value: The announced merger with First Merchants Corporation, valued at an implied $33.60 per share, signals a clear path to enhanced scale and market presence, particularly in the Indiana deposit network. You should look at Breaking Down First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (FSFG) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors for a deeper dive into the implications of this deal.

First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (FSFG) How It Makes Money

First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (FSFG) generates the vast majority of its revenue, like any traditional bank, by profiting from the spread between the interest it earns on its loans and investments and the interest it pays out on customer deposits. This core banking activity, known as net interest income, is supplemented by a growing noninterest income stream from selling certain originated loans, especially Small Business Administration (SBA) and Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOCs).

First Savings Financial Group's Revenue Breakdown

For the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, First Savings Financial Group reported total revenue of approximately $83.83 million, which was a strong 23.11% increase from the previous year. Here's the quick math on where that money came from, showing a healthy reliance on their lending book but a strategic push into fee-based income.

Business Economics

The company's financial engine is driven by two primary segments: Core Banking and SBA Lending. The Core Banking segment focuses on the classic 'borrow short, lend long' model, funding residential, commercial, and consumer loans with customer deposits gathered across Southern Indiana.

• Net Interest Margin (NIM) Expansion: The key pricing metric, Net Interest Margin (the difference between loan yield and deposit cost), improved to 2.94% in FY 2025, up from 2.68% in the prior year. That's a defintely positive trend in a high-rate environment.
• Strategic Loan Sales: Noninterest income saw a significant increase of $6.3 million, largely due to gains from the sale of HELOCs and SBA loans. This is a strategic shift to an 'originate for sale' model for certain products, which enhances fee income, manages the loan-to-deposit ratio, and generates capital.
• Core Deposit Growth: Customer deposits grew by $118.2 million since September 2024, which is crucial because cheaper core deposits are the lifeblood of a healthy NIM.

First Savings Financial Group's Financial Performance

The fiscal year 2025 results, ending September 30, showed robust operational improvements, suggesting their strategy is paying off right before the planned 2026 merger with First Merchants Corporation. The numbers demonstrate a significant jump in profitability and efficiency.

• Net Income and EPS: Net income surged to $23.2 million, a substantial increase from $13.6 million in FY 2024. Diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS) followed suit, rising to $3.32 from $1.98.
• Return on Assets (ROAA): This key measure of management effectiveness improved to 0.96%, up from 0.58% in the previous fiscal year.
• Return on Equity (ROAE): The return on shareholders' capital increased sharply to 12.80%, a significant jump from 8.31% in FY 2024, indicating much better utilization of equity.
• Efficiency Ratio: The ratio, which measures noninterest expense as a percentage of total revenue, decreased to 67.69% from 74.92%. Lower is better here; it means they are spending less to generate each dollar of revenue.

For a deeper dive into the metrics that underpin these results, you should check out Breaking Down First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (FSFG) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors, as asset quality and capital levels are the next logical step in your analysis.

First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (FSFG) Market Position & Future Outlook

First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (FSFG) is at a pivotal point, transitioning from an independent regional bank to an acquisition target, which fundamentally shifts its near-term outlook from organic growth to integration efficiency. The pending all-stock acquisition by First Merchants Corporation, announced in September 2025, positions FSFG's $2.399 billion in total assets to become a strategic expansion point into the Louisville metropolitan area.

Competitive Landscape

In the regional banking space, FSFG is a relatively small player, but its specialized national lending programs give it a competitive edge beyond its local Indiana footprint. To be defintely clear, we don't have a single, universal market share number for a bank this size, but comparing total assets gives you the picture of their relative scale.

Here's the quick math: First Merchants Corporation, with $18.8 billion in total assets as of Q3 2025, is roughly 7.8 times the size of FSFG's $2.4 billion in assets, showing the scale difference FSFG faces as a standalone entity. Independent Bank Corporation, another regional peer, holds about $5.33 billion in assets, which is over twice FSFG's size. That size disparity is why consolidation is a major theme.

Opportunities & Challenges

The company's strategic moves in 2025, like exiting the mortgage banking business, have already sharpened its focus, but the pending merger introduces a new set of dynamics-both good and bad.

Industry Position

FSFG is a high-performing, niche regional bank that is now being absorbed by a larger entity to accelerate its growth and market penetration. Its core banking segment reported net income of $11.4 million for the first half of fiscal year 2025, demonstrating strong underlying profitability. The company's net profit margin surged to 27.1% in Q4 2025, which is a standout performance that challenges the broader narrative of compressing profitability for regional banks. This efficiency is a key asset for the acquiring company.

• Maintain a strong capital position with a focus on core banking and deposit growth.
• The pending acquisition, valued at approximately $241.3 million, is a clear signal that FSFG's specialized lending and presence in the Louisville MSA are highly valued strategic assets.
• Asset quality improved in Q2 2025, with nonperforming loans decreasing $3.8 million from the prior quarter, which is a great sign for the balance sheet health.

The company's future trajectory is tied directly to the successful closure and integration of the First Merchants Corporation merger, expected in the first quarter of 2026. This move is less about FSFG's individual growth and more about its value as a strategic bolt-on for a larger regional bank looking to expand its footprint and operational scale.