About Horizon Bank

Safe, Sound and Still Growing

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SOLID FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE.  Horizon continues to prosper during these difficult times as demonstrated by record earnings in each of the last 10 years.

TIME TESTED.  Horizon has been in business for 137 years. From the Great Depression to the current recession, our long-term business philosophy of serving local businesses and individuals, and providing loans to qualified borrowers, has helped the bank, its shareholders, and its customers to weather these economic storms.

SENSIBLE ADVICE.  Horizon has a long history of helping people through tough times. We listen and seek to provide sensible advice. We recognize that a business or family's financial stability can change quickly. Therefore, we encourage our customers, and non-customers alike, to talk with us about ways we may be able to help.

EXPERIENCED LEADERSHIP.  Our management team consists of seasoned officers many of whom have come through several recessions to date - so they know how to get through tough times.

SOLID CAPITAL POSITION.   Horizon is well-capitalized as defined by regulatory guidelines.

LOCAL DECISION MAKING.  All decisions impacting our customers are made locally, rather than by a corporate entity hundreds or thousands of miles away. We provide one-on-one, face-to-face consultation to see how we can help our customers.

DILIGENT RISK MANAGEMENT.  The level of our non-performing loans continues to be better than our competitors, giving us a firm foundation for continued growth.

REINVESTMENT IN OUR COMMUNITIES.  Because we are a local Company, we reinvest our profits locally. We also contribute extensively to local not-for-profit organizations through both volunteer work and funds. Horizon encourages employees to volunteer with organizations that have special meaning for them. As a result, more than 170 organizations throughout our region have benefited from these efforts.

CONTINUED GROWTH.  Horizon Bank is one of the area's largest employers with nearly 300 advisors living and working in the communities we serve. We continue to expand our services into additional communities throughout our region  bringing more jobs to the area and giving more consumers the opportunity to bank locally.

SAFE DEPOSITS.  Horizon's deposits are insured by the FDIC for up to $250,000 with legal and safe ways to get even more FDIC coverage for deposit accounts.

History

In 1873, Horizon Bank was founded in Michigan City, Indiana - a small settlement on a sand hill at the southeastern tip of Lake Michigan. The city's early leaders were able to turn sand into prosperity by selling it to glass manufacturers, starting Michigan City on the road to economic growth and development. Throughout the last six generations, Horizon Bank has grown and evolved along with the city, providing comprehensive financial services and community activism.

The Bank received its original charter in April of 1873 as "First National Bank." By the turn of the century, the Bank had brought the "gold standard" to customer service in banking by opening the first-ever "drive-up window" to protect the payroll of gold coins that local railroad industrialist John H. Barker used to pay his employees.

The Bank's assets were well secured behind a soundproof, 12-ton vault door long before the notorious bank robber John Dillinger became a threat to financial institutions across Northwest Indiana. When Dillinger became the nation's Public Enemy No. 1, the Bank also mounted a World War I rifle to a rail in the Director's office above the bank lobby and teller lines for additional protection.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, 10,000 of the nation's 25,000 banks failed, including two of Michigan City's five financial institutions, but the Bank remained solvent and continued to prosper.

In 1962, the Bank merged with another local financial institution, Merchants National Bank (founded in 1909), to become First-Merchants National Bank. In 1986, the Bank merged with Citizen's Bank (founded in 1888) to become First Citizens Bank. The Bank was renamed Horizon Bank in 1997.

A banking innovator and community leader, Horizon has instituted many "firsts" in the industry during its 130 + year history, including:

• Indiana's first automobile drive-up and customer walk-up service windows in 1955
• The first Automated Teller Machine in Indiana in 1974
  

Values

We display pride in the Horizon Team by holding these values in the highest esteem.

1. We affirm the customer as our highest focus by providing exceptional service and sensible advice to build life-long relationships.
2. We act responsibly employing high ethical standards.
3. We accomplish our goals.
4. We embrace individual, cultural, racial, and ethnic diversity.
5. We cooperate as a Team in serving our customers and associates.
6. We demonstrate kindness, understanding, and respect.
7. We understand the value of profit.
8. We support progressive learning.
9. We encourage creative thinking.
10. We strive for balance in our lives and pleasure in our work.
11. We contribute to the betterment of the community.
12. We commit to the preservation of independent banking.