The Strategic Decisions Behind First Mid Bank & Trust’s $9 Billion Growth Story
Travillian hosts Andrew Liesch, Head of Bank Strategy, and Brian Love, Head of Banking & Fintech Search, sit down with Joseph Dively, Chairman and CEO of First Mid Bank & Trust — one of the Midwest’s most consistently high-performing community banks. With $9.1 billion in assets, a 1.35% ROA, and a dividend streak dating back to 1879, First Mid has quietly built something extraordinary.
Joe unpacks the strategic decisions that got them here, from a bold Nasdaq listing that changed the bank’s trajectory, to a disciplined M&A approach built on decade-long relationships rather than hostile deal rooms. He shares how First Mid has stayed fiercely independent while growing through eight acquisitions, why he’s deliberately built one of the youngest executive teams in community banking, and how the principles of energy, effort, and attitude guide everything from new hire orientation to CEO succession.
Whether you’re a community banker navigating the $10 billion threshold, an executive thinking about talent strategy, or someone who just wants to understand what great leadership looks like in this industry, this episode delivers.
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00:00: Celebrating Community Banking Month: Introducing First Mid Bank & Trust and CEO Joe Dively
April is Community Banking Month, and Joe Dively, Chairman and CEO of First Mid Bank & Trust, is the perfect guest to kick it off. Illinois’s oldest national bank, chartered in 1865, First Mid now sits at $9.1 billion in assets following the recent closing of the Two Rivers acquisition and posted a 1.35% ROA and a 15.6% return on tangible common equity last year.
01:38: The Three Crown Jewels: The Strategic Decisions Behind First Mid Bank’s Consistent Performance
Joe credits three pillars for First Mid’s sustained performance: a low-cost rural deposit base deployed into higher-growth markets, a conservative credit culture that hasn’t missed a dividend since 1879, and diversified revenue streams that keep non-interest income near 30% of total revenue. The most consequential decision, though, came at his first board meeting as chair in 2014, when he pushed to list First Mid on the Nasdaq to unlock the capital access needed to grow through acquisitions.
04:53: Approaching the $10 Billion Asset Threshold: How First Mid Bank Is Preparing for the Durbin Crossing
With assets at $9.1 billion, the $10 billion Durbin threshold is imminent. First Mid engaged outside consultants years ago to prepare, and the costs are already reflected in the income statement. Rather than stretching for a transformational deal, Joe is staying disciplined, keeping to the bank’s $1-2 billion acquisition sweet spot while remaining open to something larger if the cultural and strategic fit is there.
08:21: The Art of the Long Close: How First Mid Bank Preserves Culture Through M&A
Joe spent 12 years calling on Two Rivers before the deal closed, and 10 years on Blackhawk before that. That relationship-first approach pays off during integration: every acquired employee gets a one-on-one conversation, talent is actively recruited to stay in place, and First Mid consistently enters listen mode rather than impose mode. When Blackhawk had a better mortgage operation, First Mid adopted their platform and put their leader in charge of the combined team.
13:17: Succession Planning in Community Banking: Building a Young, Ready Executive Team at First Mid
Of 15 executive committee members, only two are over 60. Joe has spent more than a decade intentionally recruiting leaders who were “number two” at institutions already over $10 billion in assets, giving First Mid a team with the experience to navigate the regulatory and operational demands ahead. Younger leaders also bring the tech fluency and adaptability needed to compete against fintechs and larger institutions.
17:45: What It Takes to Succeed at First Mid: Energy, Effort, and Attitude Over Pedigree
Joe personally welcomes every new hire monthly and always gets the same question: who gets ahead here? His answer is effort and attitude. Positive energy and a willingness to raise a hand for the next challenge are noticed quickly, through both informal observation and a formal succession planning process. It reflects Joe’s own path as a self-described nontraditional banker who knew he needed the team more than they needed him.
20:21: M&A as a Talent Pipeline: How First Mid Turns Acquisitions into a Recruiting Advantage
The talent conversation starts within days of any acquisition announcement. Since no one is relocating to Mattoon, First Mid has built a distributed organization with work centers across its footprint, making acquisitions as much a talent strategy as a growth one. The head of digital strategy came out of the Blackhawk deal. Retention comes down to culture and growth opportunity: people actively choose to leave larger banks to join First Mid because the career trajectory is real.
24:44: Fee Income, Revenue Diversification, and What First Mid Looks for in an Acquisition Target
Fee income is not a requirement in First Mid’s M&A criteria, but it is a welcome addition. Two Rivers brought $1.2 billion in wealth advisory assets never exported to higher-growth markets, creating immediate cross-sell opportunities in Des Moines and Iowa City. The Sweet Capital acquisition transformed the bank’s insurance business overnight. The goal is to expand existing service lines into new markets rather than leap into unfamiliar businesses, keeping non-interest income near that 30% target.
27:28: The Leadership Pipeline: Internal Development, 125 Promotions, and the Mentor Who Started It All
Last year, 125 of First Mid’s 1,200 pre-acquisition employees were promoted, roughly 11% of the workforce advancing in a single year. That is tracked in the strategic plan. The internal development framework is built around the Leadership Pipeline model, creating shared expectations from frontline managers through the executive committee. Joe traces his own leadership philosophy to Dick Lumpkin, a fourth-generation telecommunications executive who mentored him for 20 years and whose values around employees, customers, and community map almost exactly onto what First Mid stands for today.
31:03: Forrest Gump, Schindler’s List, and Why Community Banking Is a Story Worth Telling
Joe picks Forrest Gump as his favorite film, and Brian makes the connection stick: Forrest is an everyman who changes lives simply by showing up, doing good, and staying consistent. It is a fitting metaphor for both the community banking mission and Joe’s own arc, from reluctantly returning to his hometown in 1991 to leading one of Illinois’s most storied banks three decades later.
Joe Dively has built First Mid Bank & Trust into a $9 billion institution not by chasing scale, but by earning it — through relationships that take a decade to close, through cultures that are respected rather than absorbed, and through a relentless investment in the people who make it all work. The community banking industry talks a lot about staying independent; Joe has turned that fight into a strategy. As First Mid approaches the $10 billion threshold with a young, ready executive team and a deep pipeline of relationships, the blueprint is clear: performance earns independence, and independence, done right, is its own competitive advantage.
