Awards & Recognition

Energage

First Mid is proud to be named a 2023 Top Workplaces Industry winner. Energage, a purpose-driven organization that builds and brands employers of choice, determines the awards. Top Workplaces Industry awards celebrate organizations that have built people-first workplace cultures within their sector. The award marks First Mid as an employer of choice for those seeking employment in the financial services industry. Top Workplaces awards are based on feedback from a research-backed employee engagement survey.

Details about how First Mid builds a great workplace culture are available on Top Workplaces.

BauerFinancial

First Mid is recognized by BauerFinancial as a 5-star Superior Bank, reflecting our strong financial standing. BauerFinancial, a leading bank rating firm since 1983, evaluates our data alongside historical information to assign comprehensive star ratings. This top-tier rating underscores First Mid’s position as one of the nation’s strongest banks.

American Bankers Association

First Mid has been named a 2023 Top 100 Ag Bank by the American Bankers Association. The ABA recognizes the top 100 farm lenders by farm loan concentration each quarter.
*Lender by volume

Land.com

First Mid Ag Services, a division of First Mid Wealth Management, has been recognized as a 2023 Land Star Top Producer. The Land.com “Land Star Awards” recognize the top brokers and agents in rural real estate. Submissions are benchmarked against local, closed transactions to identify a premiere list of exceptional winners in categories such as total transactions, sales volume, and acreage.

Reagan Consulting and IIABA

First Mid Insurance Group has been recognized as a 2023 IIABA Best Practices Agency by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA) and Reagan Consulting. This is the fourth time First Mid has earned this award.

The Best Practices Study is published in partnership between Reagan Consulting and the IIABA, also known as Big “I”. Since 1993, the Study has served as the industry’s premier benchmarking tool, offering insight into the financial and operating practices of the highest-performing agencies in the U.S. Agencies are nominated to participate by carriers, state associations, and Study sponsors. They then submit extensive financial and operational data for review through an online platform. Finally, they are selected as a Best Practices Agency based on how they compared to firms in their peer revenue category.

Small Business Administration Illinois District Office

First Mid Bank & Trust is honored to be selected as the Small Business Administration (SBA) Central/Southern Illinois Community Lender of the Year by the Illinois District Office. The award is presented to the community bank with the best overall performance record for lending to small businesses in Central and Southern Illinois. 2022 marks the ninth time First Mid has received this award.  

The SBA also awarded First Mid Bank & Trust its Preferred Lender Program (PLP) status in early 2023 based on the bank’s years of experience. To earn the PLP designation, lenders must establish a successful track record and display a thorough understanding of SBA lending policies and procedures. 

The SBA preferred lender status gives First Mid the authority to make borrowing decisions on behalf of SBA, streamlining its commercial loan process by removing significant timing and documentation hurdles that can add weeks of closing time to a transaction. This gives borrowers the opportunity to achieve their funding goals sooner and more efficiently.

MarshBerry

First Mid Insurance Group was named the 2022 Midwest regional winner of MarshBerry’s prestigious MAX Performer Awards, a mark of distinction given to independent agencies with impressive financials, operational excellence, and world-class client service.

MarshBerry selects winners by evaluating firm performance in organic growth, new business acquisition, profit margins, commission and fee structures, and employee engagement and culture. MarshBerry created the MAX Performer program to recognize exceptional performance and help firms prosper through peer networking.

Piper | Sandler

First Mid was recognized as one of the 35 banks and thrifts that comprise the Piper | Sandler Sm-All Stars Class of 2022. The 2022 class admits 12 new members and welcomes back 23 alumni. The objective of the Sm-All Stars is to identify the top performing small-cap banks and thrifts in the country. In doing this, Piper | Sandler hopes to uncover the next crop of stellar mid-cap banks before they are discovered by the rest of the world.

To earn Sm-All Star status, companies need to have a market cap below $2.5 billion and clear numerous hurdles related to growth, profitability, credit quality, and capital strength. Against industry medians, banks need to out-perform in these four metrics: EPS growth, loan growth, deposit growth, and ROAE. The performance metrics of the 35 recognized institutions are outstanding, with the Class of 2022 delivering bottom line results that are markedly better than the industry as a whole.

Newsweek

First Mid Bank & Trust was named to Newsweek magazine’s ranking of America’s Best Banks 2021. Newsweek’s first-ever Best Banks rankings recognized financial institutions that best serve their customers’ needs. Further, First Mid Bank & Trust was named as the Best Small Bank in the state of Illinois.

Newsweek partnered with LendingTree, the online loan marketplace and comparison site for financial services, for the magazine’s inaugural Best Banks rankings. From more than 2,500 FDIC-insured institutions, they assessed U.S. banks and the savings and checking accounts offered based on 55 separate factors to come up with a best-in-class option in 19 categories —including the best big and small bank in every state.

Bank Director

First Mid Bank & Trust was recognized on the list of Top 100 Performing Banks by Bank Director. Bank Director reaches the leaders of the institutions that comprise America’s banking industry. Since 1991, Bank Director has provided board-level research, peer-insights, and in-depth executive and board services. Built for banks, Bank Director extends into and beyond the boardroom by providing timely and relevant information through Bank Director magazine, board training services and the financial industry’s premier event, Acquire or Be Acquired.

Health Alliance

First Mid Insurance Group was named the 2021 top broker for Medicare products in Illinois by Health Alliance. First Mid Insurance Group was also recognized as part of Health Alliance’s individual top 5 selling agencies. In addition, First Mid Insurance agents Matthew Barnes and James Schuett were named in the Top 5 selling agents for Medicare products in Illinois by Health Alliance.

REALTORS® Land Institute

David Klein, Managing Real Estate Broker for First Mid Ag Services, a division of First Mid Wealth Management, received the 2020 Land Broker of the Year Award from the Illinois Farm & Land Chapter of the REALTORS® Land Institute.

The Land Broker of the Year Award recognizes the professionalism, ethics, land business activities, realtor service, and community service of the recipient. This award marks the second time Klein was named the recipient as he also received this award in 2014.

Frankenmuth Insurance

First Mid Insurance Group was named Illinois’ 2020 Diamond Achiever by Frankenmuth Insurance. The annual award is presented to the highest performing agency based on set criteria including length of appointment, profitability, growth, and policy retention. Each year, the top Frankenmuth agencies receive the “Diamond Achiever” award in recognition of their outstanding accomplishment.

The results achieved by the team at First Mid Insurance Group helped the agency become one of the most successful among Frankenmuth Insurance’s more than 700 independent agencies. First Mid Insurance Group has been licensed with Frankenmuth Insurance since 2016 and is recognized as one of the carrier’s Partner independent insurance agencies.