Shareholders' Equity

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Shareholders' Equity [Abstract]

Stockholders' Equity Note Disclosure [Text Block]

Shareholders’ Equity

Capital Transactions

On January 9, 2009, the Corporation completed the sale to the Treasury of $125.0 million of newly issued FirstMerit non-voting preferred shares as part of the TARP Capital Purchase Program. FirstMerit issued and sold to the Treasury for an aggregate purchase price of $125.0 million in cash (1) 125,000 shares of FirstMerit’s Fixed Rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Shares, Series A, each without par value and having a liquidation preference of $1,000 per share, and (2) a warrant to purchase 952,260 FirstMerit common shares, each without par value, at an exercise price of $19.69 per share.

On April 22, 2009, the Corporation repurchased all 125,000 shares of its Fixed Rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series A for $126.2 million which included all accrued and unpaid dividends as well as the unamortized discount on the preferred stock. On May 27, 2009, the Corporation completed the repurchase of the warrant held by the Treasury.   The Corporation paid $5.0 million to the Treasury to repurchase the warrant.

The Corporation has Distribution Agency Agreements pursuant to which the Corporation, from time to time, may offer and sell shares of the Corporation’s common stock. The Corporation sold 4.3 million shares with an average value of $18.98 per share during the year ended December 31, 2009. The Corporation sold an additional 3.9 million shares with an average value of $20.91 per share during the year ended December 31, 2010.

During the quarter ended June 30, 2010, the Corporation closed and completed the sale of a total of 17,600,160 shares of common stock, no par value, at $19.00 per share in a public underwritten offering. The net proceeds from the offering were approximately $320.1 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and the estimated expenses of the offering payable by the Corporation.

Earnings per Share

The reconciliation between basic and diluted earnings per share is presented as follows:

	Years Ended December 31,
	2011		2010		2009
Basic EPS:
Net income	$	119,558	$	102,909	$	82,170
Less: preferred dividend	—		—		6,167
Less: accretion of preferred stock discount	—		—		204
Net income available to common shareholders	$	119,558	$	102,909	$	75,799
Average common shares outstanding	109,102		101,163		84,678
Basic net income per share	$	1.10	$	1.02	$	0.90
Diluted EPS:
Income used in diluted earnings per share calculation	$	119,558	$	102,909	$	75,799
Average common shares outstanding	109,102		101,163		84,678
Add: common stock equivalents:
Stock option plans	—		2		8
Average common and common stock equivalent shares outstanding	109,102		101,165		84,686
Diluted net income per share	$	1.10	$	1.02	$	0.90

For the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010, and 2009, options to purchase 3.4 million shares, 4.4 million shares and 4.9 million shares, respectively, were outstanding but not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share because they were antidilutive.