Our Mission and History

Who We Are and Who We Serve

Our Mission

Our mission is to aid in the economic prosperity of Marinette, Menominee, and Oconto counties by partnering with locally-owned businesses to help them thrive and grow, and by serving the financial needs of their employees and customers. We accomplish this by developing personal relationships, providing unparalleled customer service, and making prompt, local underwriting decisions.

We believe in financial strength.

By maintaining and building our financial strength we can do more for our customers, our employees, our shareholders, and our community.

We believe in integrity.

The principal measure of our success is not financial but adherence to the highest ethical standards.

Our History

In the fall of 1902, a group of civic-minded and far-sighted citizens met to subscribe for the stock of the Farmers & Merchants Bank. There were two existing banks in Marinette founded by lumbermen. This bank's founders thought there was a need for a "people's bank" that would serve the financial needs of hard-working, ordinary citizens.

Little did they realize that the institution they founded would still be serving this community over 100 years later. Some of the founders include J. E. Utke, Charles Reinke, Gus Reinke, Leo Evans, T. C. Miller, John Boren, Charles Feldstein, Samuel Feldstein, F. E. Noyes, and John Dumoulin.

Since 1902, the Farmers & Merchants Bank has been an innovator in the financial services industry. During periods of financial uncertainty, including the Great Depression, we have remained committed to serving our customers in every capacity.

Today, we serve this area as a contributor to many organizations including the United Way, American Legion Baseball, Special Olympics, and the American Cancer Society. Education has always been a central focus of our philanthropic effort. We work continuously on the following initiatives:

• Our Scholarship Program- We provide a $1,000 scholarship each year to one graduating senior from each area high school: Marinette, Menominee, Peshtigo, Crivitz, Wausaukee, and St. Thomas Aquinas Academy. Scholarship recipients are chosen by their respective schools.
• Hi-Q Program- Farmers & Merchants Bank & Trust is the principal sponsor of the Northeast Wisconsin/Upper Peninsula of Michigan Region of the Hi-Q program, as well as host of the official website for the region. Hi-Q was the recipient of the 2015 Achievement in Education award from the Marinette-Menominee Chamber of Commerce. Learn more about Hi-Q.
• Teach Children to Save Program- Every April, FMBT employees give presentations on the importance of saving for the future to area K-12 classrooms in conjunction with National Teach Children to Save Day. Sponsored by the American Bankers Association, Teach Children to Save Day helps students learn strategies to make wise and safe financial decisions. For more information on Teach Children to Save, contact Marguerite Lozier at (715) 735-6617.

We are grateful to our customers for your loyal support. We are committed to our customers, our stockholders, and to this community. While we honor the past, we are excited about the future. We are confident that our community-based approach, organic growth, and innovative services will continue to make us a leader in this area and in the financial services industry.