Dec 30, 2021

1 Min Read Mercantile Bancorp in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has formed a foundation to manage its charitable giving. Mercantile, parent of the Mercantile Bank of Michigan, is endowing the foundation with a $4 million initial contribution, which will be reported as a noninterest expense on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report. Mercantile donated a total of $1.6 million in 2020 and 2021. It plans to route future bequests through the foundation. "We are very excited to form and initially fund The Mercantile Bank Foundation to enhance our charitable giving program as we work to support all of the communities within our markets,” Raymond Reitsma, president of Mercantile Bank, said in a press release Thursday. The creation of the charitable foundation came two weeks after the bank issued $75 million in subordinated debt. Mercantile said it planned to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including funding commercial loan growth. Founded in December 1997 as Mercantile Bank of West Michigan, the bank adopted its current brand in 2005 and has grown to become Michigan’s largest community bank, with 44 branches and $5 billion of assets.