Finward Bancorp filings document the public-company disclosures of a bank holding company whose principal activity is holding the stock of Peoples Bank. Recent Form 8-K reports cover unaudited quarterly financial results, common stock dividend declarations, Regulation FD presentation materials, and board or director matters involving the Bancorp and its bank subsidiary.
Proxy materials describe annual meeting voting matters, director elections, board structure and governance practices. The filing record also reflects disclosure topics common to regulated banking issuers, including capital position, financial performance, liquidity, dividend considerations, regulatory and accounting factors, and compliance matters tied to Peoples Bank’s operations.
Finward Bancorp (FNWD), the holding company for Peoples Bank, declared a $0.12-per-share dividend on its common stock on November 4, 2026. The dividend is payable December 2, 2026, to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 18, 2026. Peoples Bank provides financial services through 24 locations in Lake and Porter Counties in Northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland area.
Finward Bancorp (FNWD) shareholders approved the merger proposal with First Financial Bancorp, with 3,016,827 votes for and 27,370 against at the November 2, 2026 special meeting. Under the merger agreement, Finward will merge into First Financial, which will be the surviving corporation.
A total of 3,044,197 shares, approximately 70.3% of the 4,330,893 shares outstanding on the September 22, 2026 record date, were represented. Approval required the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote on that date.
Finward Bancorp (FNWD) is identified as a party to a proposed transaction with First Financial Bancorp. First Financial said it issued an earnings release covering the third quarter and first nine months of 2026 and provided presentation slides for its earnings conference call.
First Financial's Form S-4 registration statement for shares of its capital stock to be issued in the proposed transaction became effective on September 28, 2026. It includes Finward's proxy statement and First Financial's prospectus.
Finward Bancorp (FNWD) reported net income available to common stockholders of $1.4 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, compared with $2.1 million, or $0.48 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. Total revenue was $18.597 million, versus $17.578 million, and net interest income was $15.942 million, versus $15.180 million.
The pending merger with First Financial was associated with $1.8 million of compensation and benefits adjustments and $536,000 of professional and outside services expenses. Net interest margin rose to 3.39% from 3.25%; on a tax-equivalent basis it was 3.51%, versus 3.37%. The company said higher interest rates contributed to loan yields and margin, while also increasing unrealized losses in the bond portfolio.
Deposits were $1.76 billion as of September 30, 2026, up 1.5% from June 30, 2026; available liquidity was $623 million, including borrowing capacity from FHLB and Federal Reserve facilities. Non-performing loans totaled $16.8 million, compared with $16.5 million at June 30, and the Bank's capital exceeded applicable regulatory capital requirements.
As an institutional investment manager, Finward Bancorp (FNWD) submitted a Form 13F holdings report. Its information table contains 178 entries and a stated value total of $135,624,360, rounded to the nearest dollar. The cover lists 0 other included managers.
Finward Bancorp Executive Vice President Todd M. Scheub reported purchasing 32 shares of common stock at $43.48 per share on September 25, 2026. The shares were acquired through the Dividend Reinvestment Plan and held indirectly through Profit Sharing; the reported indirect position afterward was 11,759 shares. A separate direct holding of 7,078 shares was also reported. No Rule 10b5-1 plan is reported.
Anthony Puntillo reported purchase transactions in this Form 4 filing. Finward Bancorp director Anthony Puntillo acquired 5 shares of common stock through the Dividend Reinvestment Plan on September 25, 2026, at $43.4600 per share. Afterward, his reported direct holding was 2,326 shares; a separate entry lists 3,378 shares held indirectly as trustee. No Rule 10b5-1 plan is reported.
Finward Bancorp President and CEO and director Benjamin J. Bochnowski reported purchasing 5 shares of common stock on September 25, 2026, at $43.48 per share. The shares were acquired through the Dividend Reinvestment Plan and held indirectly through Profit Sharing. His reported indirect Profit Sharing position after the purchase was 1,874 shares; he also reported 30,686 shares held directly. No Rule 10b5-1 plan is reported.
Finward Bancorp (FNWD) Executive Vice President Robert T. Lowry reported an indirect purchase of 42.0722 common shares on September 25, 2026, at $43.4800 per share. The shares were acquired through the Dividend Reinvestment Plan and held through Profit Sharing; the reported post-transaction Profit Sharing position was 15,286.2634 shares. No Rule 10b5-1 plan is reported.
Finward Bancorp (symbol: FNWD) is the issuer of record for a Form DEFM14A filing submitted to the SEC.