At its Annual Meeting on Thursday, Merchants Financial Group, Inc., (MFGI) Executive Management reported record earnings for 2022, shared insights about Merchants’ strong liquidity and financial stability.

MFGI formally reported net income of $30,424,467 for 2022, a 5.72 percent increase over 2021 earnings. New commercial loan activity was a significant driver of the strong performance with more than $608.5 million in new loan and lease origination. Due to new commercial loan activity, year-over-year net loan and lease growth was 17.3 percent, finishing 2022 at $1.85 billion. Merchants’ strong business line diversification allowed for record earnings even though residential mortgage lending activity in 2022 was just 47 percent of 2021 volume.

“We take great pride in our 2022 results and know that solid earnings provide the foundation we need to continue contributing to the economic vitality of the communities we serve,” said Gregory M. Evans, President and Chief Executive Officer for MFGI and Merchants Bank.

Total deposits for the company were in excess of $2.3 billion at year-end 2022, providing Merchants with healthy liquidity.

“The strength of our deposit franchise provides the foundation for our track record of consistent and measured business and earnings growth,” Evans shared. “In light of recent industry events, being in a healthy position with excess deposits at year-end positions us well for continued success. Our community banking business model and philosophy is vastly different than what was the case associated with the recent isolated bank failures.”

Merchants Bank is a full-service community bank with 23 bank locations in southeastern Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin and a leasing division, Merchants Bank Equipment Finance.