Old National Bancorp (ONB): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

How does a bank founded in 1834 remain a top regional player today, especially after navigating a complex merger? Old National Bancorp (ONB) is not just surviving but expanding, with total assets soaring to $71.210 billion as of September 30, 2025, following the strategic Bremer Bank partnership. The firm's third-quarter 2025 adjusted net income of $231.3 million shows how their community-focused model translates into real financial strength, but the real question is whether that growth is sustainable. You defintely need to understand their core business model-how they generate revenue from a $55.0 billion deposit base-to map out your own investment strategy for this Midwest powerhouse.

Old National Bancorp (ONB) History

You're looking for the bedrock of Old National Bancorp, and honestly, the story is one of relentless, quiet expansion, not flashy Wall Street drama. Tracing its lineage back nearly two centuries, Old National has consistently focused on community banking, but it's the recent, transformative mergers that have catapulted it into the top tier of U.S. regional banks. It's a classic case of conservative management meeting aggressive, strategic growth.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

Year established

Old National Bancorp traces its roots to the founding of the Branch Bank at Evansville of the State Bank of Indiana in 1834. That makes it one of the oldest financial institutions in the Midwest.

Original location

The bank began operations in a one-room structure in Evansville, Indiana, a city along the Ohio River that was a loose gathering of pioneers at the time.

Founding team members

The initiative was driven by local businessmen and community leaders. The most notable early figures were John Mitchell, the bank's first president, and John Douglas, the first cashier, who also served as bookkeeper, teller, and janitor.

Initial capital/funding

The initial capital funding for the bank's predecessor was $100,000. To put that in perspective, the bank's entrance into major financing was well-intentioned, but rather inauspicious.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The most significant shift in Old National Bancorp's trajectory came from a series of non-stop, large-scale mergers and acquisitions (M&A) over the last few years, fundamentally changing its scale from a strong regional player to a major national competitor. This wasn't just growth; it was a deliberate, calculated move to consolidate and gain market share in key Midwest and Southeast markets.

Here's the quick math on the recent scale-up:

• The 2022 merger with First Midwest Bancorp pushed total assets past $45 billion.
• The 2025 partnership with St. Paul-based Bremer Bank, which closed on May 1, 2025, was the ultimate game-changer, increasing total assets to approximately $71 billion.
• This massive integration effort is paying off, with the company reporting an adjusted earnings per share of $0.59 for the third quarter of 2025, an 11% increase over the prior quarter.

To be fair, integrating two major banks in two years-First Midwest and Bremer Bank-is a huge operational lift, but the company's Q3 2025 results show strong execution, including a sub-50% efficiency ratio and an adjusted 20% return on average tangible common equity (ROATCE). That's defintely peer-leading performance. This aggressive M&A strategy, combined with a focus on a low-cost deposit base, has solidified Old National's position, as you can see by Exploring Old National Bancorp (ONB) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Old National Bancorp (ONB) Ownership Structure

Old National Bancorp (ONB) is a publicly traded company, and its ownership structure is heavily weighted toward institutional investors, which is typical for a major financial holding company. This means the vast majority of strategic decisions are influenced by large asset managers like BlackRock and Vanguard, rather than individual retail investors.

As of November 2025, Old National Bancorp is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol ONB. The company is a significant regional player, operating as the holding company for Old National Bank, with approximately $71 billion of assets and $38 billion of assets under management. For a deeper look at who is driving demand for the stock, you can check out Exploring Old National Bancorp (ONB) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Old National Bancorp's Current Status

Old National Bancorp is a large-cap, publicly traded bank holding company. This public status ensures governance is subject to stringent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations, plus NASDAQ listing rules, providing a high degree of transparency for shareholders.

The company's market capitalization stood at approximately $8.25 billion as of November 2025, reflecting its position as the sixth largest commercial bank headquartered in the Midwest. This size means its stock is widely held, and its financial health is a key indicator for the regional banking sector.

Old National Bancorp's Ownership Breakdown

Institutional investors-pension funds, mutual funds, and endowments-are the dominant owners, holding a commanding stake in the company. This institutional control is a sign of stability, but it also means that major policy shifts often follow the consensus of a few powerful investment firms.

Here's the quick math: Institutional investors hold roughly 83.66% of the common stock, according to recent 2025 filings. That leaves a smaller slice for the rest of us. The table below breaks down the ownership structure based on 2025 fiscal year data, showing where the power truly lies.

To be fair, institutional ownership is not monolithic; the largest holders are often passive index funds. For instance, BlackRock, Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc. are among the top shareholders, holding 42,325,083 and 36,813,066 shares, respectively, as of September 30, 2025. Their decisions carry serious weight.

Old National Bancorp's Leadership

The company is steered by a seasoned executive team, with an average management tenure of 3.8 years, which suggests a blend of continuity and fresh perspective. The leadership is responsible for managing the bank's approximately $71 billion in assets and driving its Midwest and Southeast expansion strategy.

• James C. Ryan, III: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He has a tenure of 6.5 years as CEO and received total compensation of approximately $7.54 million in the last reported fiscal year.
• Timothy M. Burke, Jr.: President and Chief Operating Officer (COO). He oversees the day-to-day operations and strategic execution.
• John V. Moran: Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He manages the bank's financial strategy and reporting.
• James A. Sandgren: Chief Executive Officer, Commercial Banking. He focuses on the core commercial client segment.
• Chady M. AlAhmar: Chief Executive Officer, Wealth Management. He leads the comprehensive wealth management business, which manages $38 billion in assets under management.

The CEO, Jim Ryan, directly owns about 0.2% of the company's shares, a stake valued at over $17 million, aligning his personal financial interests with shareholder returns. This is defintely a good signal for investors.

Old National Bancorp (ONB) Mission and Values

Old National Bancorp (ONB) anchors its strategy not just on financial performance but on a core belief that its success is tied directly to the prosperity of its clients and communities. This is a bank that explicitly puts its purpose-its mission-at the center of its operations, which is why you see such heavy investment in community development alongside strong Q2 2025 financial results, like the $521.9 million in Net Interest Income (on a fully taxable equivalent basis).

Honestly, understanding this cultural DNA is crucial for any investor, because a commitment to community often translates into a stable, sticky deposit base and long-term regional strength. You're not just buying a balance sheet; you're buying a deeply rooted community partner.

Old National Bancorp's Core Purpose

The company's formal statements and core values map out a clear path for how they intend to operate, which is especially important for a regional powerhouse with approximately $71 billion in assets following the May 2025 Bremer Bank partnership.

Official mission statement

Old National Bancorp's mission is simple and direct: to invest our time, heart, and expertise so that our clients and communities thrive. This isn't corporate fluff; it's a mandate to deploy capital and human resources beyond standard lending.

• Invest time: Team members logged nearly 68,000 volunteer hours in 2024.
• Invest heart: The bank was named one of The Civic 50 for 2025, recognizing it as one of the nation's most community-minded companies.
• Invest expertise: The five-year Community Growth Plan was expanded in 2025 to $11.1 billion, targeting underserved populations with lending, investment, and service opportunities.

Vision statement

The vision statement broadens the mission to include all key stakeholders, outlining the company's aspiration to be the preferred financial partner for everyone it touches. The goal is to be the bank of choice that helps clients fulfill their dreams, passionately supports communities, and invests in the growth and development of its team members.

• Be the bank of choice for clients, helping them achieve their financial dreams.
• Passionately support communities through tangible investments.
• Invest in the growth of team members, ensuring internal talent development.

This focus on internal growth is a smart hedge against the tight labor market, defintely helping to keep noninterest expense in check-it was $343.6 million adjusted in Q2 2025. If you want to dig into the ownership structure driving these decisions, you should read Exploring Old National Bancorp (ONB) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Old National Bancorp Core Values

Old National Bancorp's culture is built on six core values. These are the behavioral standards that guide everything from client interaction to the due diligence on a new loan portfolio.

• Integrity: Acting in the best interest of clients and team members.
• Inclusion: Creating an environment where all people and ideas are respected.
• Excellence: Consistently delivering the best and owning the results.
• Collaboration: Working together to win as one team.
• Optimism: Approaching challenges with a spirit of possibilities.
• Agility: Being fast, nimble, and adapting to change as needed.

Old National Bancorp slogan/tagline

The most prominent phrase that encapsulates their mission and values is Better Together. It's a clean one-liner that connects their internal culture (Collaboration) with their external goal of community and client success (Thrive). They also frequently use the phrase Banking with Heart to describe their overall approach, which speaks to the empathetic tone of their community engagement.

Old National Bancorp (ONB) How It Works

Old National Bancorp operates as a regional financial holding company, generating value primarily by leveraging its strong, low-cost deposit base-totaling approximately $55.0 billion in Q3 2025-to fund a diversified loan portfolio of nearly $48.0 billion. This core banking model is supplemented by a growing fee-income stream from its comprehensive wealth management and capital markets businesses, which helps stabilize revenue against interest rate fluctuations.

Old National Bancorp's Product/Service Portfolio

The company maintains a three-pronged portfolio-Consumer, Commercial, and Wealth Management-to serve a broad client spectrum across the Midwest and Southeast. This deliberate diversification ensures consistent revenue, even as regional economic cycles shift.

Old National Bancorp's Operational Framework

The company's operational framework centers on a high-touch, local relationship model, powered by continuous digital investment and a disciplined approach to capital. This setup allows them to deliver the resources of a large bank while maintaining the service of a community bank.

• Deposit-Centric Funding: They prioritize growing core deposits, which grew at a 5.8% annualized rate in Q3 2025, excluding brokered deposits. This low-cost funding base is the lifeblood of their net interest margin (NIM), which stood at a strong 3.64% in Q3 2025.
• Strategic Expansion and Integration: The successful systems conversion of the Bremer Bank partnership, which closed in May 2025, has bolstered operational efficiency and expanded the footprint, making Old National Bancorp the third largest bank in the Twin Cities market.
• Value Creation Loop: Local relationship managers acquire low-cost deposits and identify local lending opportunities (commercial loan production was up 20% from the prior quarter in Q3 2025). These assets are then managed with a strong credit culture, generating interest income, while wealth and capital markets teams layer on non-interest fee income.

Here's the quick math: generating a high NIM from a cheap funding base is the defintely most critical driver of profit.

Old National Bancorp's Strategic Advantages

Old National Bancorp's market success is rooted in its balance sheet strength, geographic focus, and superior efficiency metrics compared to many regional peers. You need to look beyond just the balance sheet, though; the strategic advantages are what sustain the returns.

• Top-Quartile Efficiency: The company consistently operates with a sub-50% efficiency ratio (a measure of non-interest expense to revenue), which was achieved in Q3 2025. This rigorous cost control provides a significant competitive edge over less-disciplined banks.
• High Capital Returns: Their focus on profitability delivered an adjusted Return on Average Tangible Common Equity (ROTCE) of 20% in Q3 2025. This level of return signals effective capital deployment and strong management execution.
• Diversified Revenue Mix: Unlike many regional banks heavily reliant on Net Interest Income (NII), Old National Bancorp's fee-based businesses (Wealth Management, Capital Markets) provide a necessary buffer against rising deposit costs or compressed lending margins. For a deeper dive into the numbers, you can check out Breaking Down Old National Bancorp (ONB) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.
• Midwest Market Density: The company focuses on building dominant market share in the less-volatile, economically diverse Midwest and Southeast regions, which reduces exposure to single-market risks.

Next Step: Finance should model the impact of a 50-basis-point shift in deposit costs on the projected 2025 full-year revenue of $2.56 billion by the end of the month.

Old National Bancorp (ONB) How It Makes Money

Old National Bancorp, a regional bank holding company, primarily generates revenue by leveraging the difference between the interest it earns on its loans and investments and the interest it pays on customer deposits-a core banking function known as net interest income (NII). The bank also earns a significant and growing portion of its income from fee-based services, which provides a valuable buffer against interest rate volatility.

Old National Bancorp's Revenue Breakdown

For the third quarter of 2025 (Q3 2025), Old National Bancorp reported total revenue of approximately $713.1 million, with the vast majority coming from its lending operations.

The Net Interest Income (NII) for Q3 2025 was $582.6 million on a fully taxable equivalent basis, a figure that reflects the full quarter impact of the Bremer Bank partnership and higher asset yields. Noninterest income, which totaled $130.5 million, is also on an upward trajectory, showing a 16.9% increase (excluding a one-time pension gain) driven by organic growth and record capital markets revenue.

Business Economics

The financial engine of Old National Bancorp is driven by its ability to maintain a healthy spread between the yield on its earning assets and the cost of its funding, plus a strategic focus on expanding its fee-based businesses. This is what you defintely need to watch.

• Net Interest Margin (NIM): The key profitability metric, NIM, stood at a strong 3.64% in Q3 2025, an increase of 11 basis points (bps) from the prior quarter. This expansion shows the bank's success in repricing its loans and investments faster or higher than its deposit costs.
• Funding Advantage: The bank maintains a granular, low-cost deposit franchise. While the cost of total deposits rose slightly to 1.97% in Q3 2025, its loan-to-deposit ratio of 87% provides a strong liquidity position. Non-interest bearing deposits still make up a significant portion-around 24%-of core deposits, which helps keep the overall funding cost down.
• Fee Income Diversification: The secondary revenue stream (Noninterest Income) is diversified across several key areas. For Q3 2025, Wealth and investment services fees generated about 30.4% of noninterest income, service charges on deposit accounts contributed approximately 21.3%, and the remainder came from capital markets and other banking services. This mix provides a hedge against a fluctuating interest rate environment.

Here's the quick math: A higher NIM directly translates to more profit from every dollar of assets, and the growing fee income provides a more stable, non-cyclical revenue base. You can learn more about the institutional interest in this model at Exploring Old National Bancorp (ONB) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Old National Bancorp's Financial Performance

Old National Bancorp's Q3 2025 results demonstrate a robust financial profile, particularly following the successful integration of Bremer Bank, which closed in May 2025.

• Profitability Metrics: The bank delivered an adjusted diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $0.59 for Q3 2025, a 28% year-over-year increase. The adjusted Return on Average Tangible Common Equity (ROATCE) was an impressive 20.1%, signaling highly efficient use of shareholder capital.
• Efficiency: The adjusted efficiency ratio, a measure of noninterest expense as a percentage of revenue, improved to a strong 48.1%. This sub-50% ratio is a key indicator of disciplined expense management and operational scale benefits from the merger.
• Balance Sheet Scale: Period-end total loans reached $48.0 billion, while total deposits stood at $55.0 billion, with core deposits growing at a 5.8% annualized rate. This deposit growth is crucial for low-cost funding in a competitive market.
• Credit Quality: Credit metrics remain benign, with net charge-offs (losses on loans) at a manageable 25 basis points of average loans, and nonaccrual loans at 1.23% of total loans, indicating a stable credit environment.

What this estimate hides is the one-time merger-related charges of $69.3 million in Q3 2025, which, while impacting GAAP net income ($178.5 million), are expected to subside, leaving a cleaner, more profitable operating structure.

Old National Bancorp (ONB) Market Position & Future Outlook

Old National Bancorp is positioned as a top-tier regional bank, leveraging its recent scale and low-cost funding base to drive peer-leading profitability, with an adjusted Return on Average Tangible Common Equity (ROATCE) of 20.1% in the third quarter of 2025. The company's focus is now shifting from large-scale merger integration to maximizing organic growth, especially in commercial lending, where the pipeline is up nearly 40% year-over-year, excluding the Bremer Bank acquisition. They are a strong, focused regional player.

Competitive Landscape

In the regional banking space, especially across the Midwest and Southeast, Old National Bancorp competes directly with similarly sized banks. Using a peer group of its closest regional rivals by asset size, ONB maintains a strong, albeit closely contested, market share. Here's the quick math on market share relative to two major peers, based on Q3 2025 total assets.

Opportunities & Challenges

The company is well-positioned to capitalize on industry tailwinds, but still faces the sector's persistent risks, particularly around credit quality and capital market volatility. You need to watch how they execute on the Bremer Bank synergies-that's the real near-term driver.

Industry Position

Old National Bancorp, with approximately $71 billion in assets as of Q3 2025, ranks among the top 25 banking companies headquartered in the United States, placing it firmly in the upper echelon of regional banks. This scale, achieved through strategic acquisitions like Bremer Bank, gives them a competitive edge in capital markets and technology investments that smaller community banks can't match.

• Maintain a strong capital profile: Preliminary regulatory Tier 1 common equity to risk-weighted assets stood at 11.02% in Q3 2025, which is a solid foundation.
• Profitability is peer-leading: The adjusted ROATCE of 20.1% in Q3 2025 demonstrates superior returns compared to many regional competitors.
• Geographic focus: The company is the fifth largest commercial bank headquartered in the Midwest, with a significant presence in high-growth areas like the Twin Cities following the Bremer integration.

The market sentiment generally favors ONB, with a consensus analyst rating of 'Moderate Buy,' suggesting a forecasted upside of over 24% from its recent price. This reflects confidence in their ability to integrate the recent M&A activity and execute on organic growth plans. To be fair, a bearish technical trend was noted recently, but the fundamentals defintely look sound. You can dive deeper into who is buying the stock here: Exploring Old National Bancorp (ONB) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?