{"schema_version":"secwatch.filing_event.v1","accession":"0000712534-26-000041","form_type":"8-K","ticker":"FRME","cik":"0000712534","company_name":"FIRST MERCHANTS CORP","filed_at":"2026-05-20T20:40:12+00:00","discovered_at":"2026-05-20T20:41:02.353195+00:00","generated_at":"2026-05-20T20:41:20.174369+00:00","sec_items":["5.07"],"event_type":"other","sentiment":"neutral","materiality_score":0.15,"calibrated_materiality_score":0.15,"confidence":"high","headline":"First Merchants shareholders re-elect all nine directors, approve say-on-pay and auditor at 2026 annual meeting","bullets":["All nine incumbent directors re-elected for one-year terms; votes for ranged from 36.8M to 45.3M, with most withheld votes between 360K and 8.9M.","Advisory vote on executive compensation approved: 43.1M for, 2.2M against, 374K abstain, 7.4M broker non-votes.","Forvis Mazars, LLP ratified as independent auditor for 2026: 51.1M for, 1.8M against, 77K abstain."],"urls":{"canonical":"https://secwatch.observer/filing/0000712534-26-000041","json":"https://secwatch.observer/filing/0000712534-26-000041.json","markdown":"https://secwatch.observer/filing/0000712534-26-000041.md","text":"https://secwatch.observer/filing/0000712534-26-000041.txt","edgar_index":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/712534/000071253426000041/0000712534-26-000041-index.htm","edgar_primary_document":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/712534/000071253426000041/frme-20260519.htm"},"model":{"generated_by":"deepseek-v4-flash:cloud@v2","generated_at":"2026-05-20T20:41:20.174369+00:00"},"review":{"review_status":"machine_generated","human_reviewed":false,"corrected":false,"correction_note":null,"correction_timestamp":null,"superseded_by":null,"related_filings":[]},"source_grounded_claims":[{"claim_id":"3c71117e25cdff1f002938d6f7dc1ed188f8ec19","claim":"FIRST MERCHANTS CORP shareholders approved Election of Directors at the 2026-05-19 meeting.","evidence_excerpt":"Susan W. Brooks, Mung Chiang, Michael J. Fisher, F. Howard Halderman, Kevin D. Johnson, Clark C. Kellogg, Larry W. Myers, Michael C. Rechin and Jean L. Wojtowicz were elected to the Board of Directors for one-year terms expiring at the 2027 annual meeting of shareholders.","evidence_source":"SEC 8-K Item 5.07","evidence_url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/712534/000071253426000041/0000712534-26-000041-index.htm","confidence":0.95,"family_label":"Shareholder Votes","details":[{"label":"Proposal","value":"director election"},{"label":"Outcome","value":"passed"},{"label":"Meeting","value":"2026-05-19"}],"fact_type":"shareholder_vote"},{"claim_id":"4da0c63b854c27df47b17e69ed3b038b1a17b7d8","claim":"FIRST MERCHANTS CORP shareholders approved Approval, on an advisory basis, of the compensation of Corporation’s named executive officers at the 2026-05-19 meeting.","evidence_excerpt":"2. Approval, on an advisory basis, of the compensation of Corporation’s named executive officers: FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN BROKER NON-VOTES 43,084,564 2,221,954 373,835 7,385,262","evidence_source":"SEC 8-K Item 5.07","evidence_url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/712534/000071253426000041/0000712534-26-000041-index.htm","confidence":0.95,"family_label":"Shareholder Votes","details":[{"label":"Proposal","value":"say on pay"},{"label":"Outcome","value":"passed"},{"label":"Meeting","value":"2026-05-19"}],"fact_type":"shareholder_vote"},{"claim_id":"ce61a05c791b592f63c5d6223a35a700d8d72f5a","claim":"FIRST MERCHANTS CORP shareholders approved Approval of Forvis Mazars, LLP as independent auditor for 2026 at the 2026-05-19 meeting.","evidence_excerpt":"3. Approval of Forvis Mazars, LLP as independent auditor for 2026: FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN BROKER NON-VOTES 51,146,053 1,842,114 77,448 —","evidence_source":"SEC 8-K Item 5.07","evidence_url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/712534/000071253426000041/0000712534-26-000041-index.htm","confidence":0.95,"family_label":"Shareholder Votes","details":[{"label":"Proposal","value":"auditor ratification"},{"label":"Outcome","value":"passed"},{"label":"Meeting","value":"2026-05-19"}],"fact_type":"shareholder_vote"}],"license":"Source filings: public domain (SEC EDGAR). Summaries (headline + bullets): CC-BY-4.0; attribute https://secwatch.observer"}