LCNB Corp. (LCNB): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

How does a bank founded in 1877 remain relevant and deliver strong results in today's volatile financial landscape? LCNB Corp. (LCNB), a financial holding company focused on community banking in Ohio, is doing just that, posting a Q3 2025 net income of $6.936 million and increasing its net interest margin to a solid 3.57% by September 30, 2025. This performance, backed by $2.244 billion in total assets and a strategy centered on local wealth management growth, defintely warrants a closer look. So, what is the core business model driving this century-old institution, and where are the near-term opportunities for its shareholders?

LCNB Corp. (LCNB) History

LCNB Corp. is a financial institution with deep roots, tracing its origin back to the late 19th century. The company's story is one of conservative, community-focused banking that strategically evolved into a modern financial holding company through a series of key acquisitions, allowing it to grow its footprint across Southwest and South-Central Ohio without losing its local identity.

You need to understand that LCNB's current structure as a NASDAQ-listed company is a relatively recent development, but its foundation is built on over a century of banking history. This long-term stability is defintely a core part of its investment thesis.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

Year established

The predecessor, The Lebanon Citizens National Bank, was formed in 1877 as a national banking association. The holding company, LCNB Corp., was formally established in December 1998.

Original location

Lebanon, Ohio, which remains the company's headquarters today.

Founding team members

The original bank was founded by local community leaders and businessmen in Lebanon, Ohio. While specific names from the 1877 founding are not the focus of the modern corporate structure, the current leadership, including CEO Eric J. Meilstrup, continues to emphasize this community-bank heritage.

Initial capital/funding

As a national banking association formed in 1877, the initial capital came from local investors and community members. Today, the company operates with total assets of approximately $2.244 billion as of September 30, 2025, reflecting its successful growth and capitalization over time.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The biggest shift for LCNB Corp. wasn't a single event, but a deliberate, multi-decade pivot from a single-county community bank to a regional financial holding company. This was done primarily through strategic, accretive mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The holding company structure, established in 1999, was the essential first step.

The 2013 merger with First Capital Bancshares was a clear signal of the company's growth ambition, expanding its reach into South-Central Ohio. But the 2018 acquisition of Columbus First Bancorp, valued at $64.4 million, was the true game-changer. It took LCNB into the vital Columbus market, diversifying its loan portfolio and deposit base significantly.

In the near-term, the focus has been on optimizing those acquisitions, which is paying off. Here's the quick math: Net income for the first nine months of 2025 was $17.436 million, a solid result driven by an improved net interest margin.

• Strategic M&A: Using stock and cash deals to expand market presence, notably the 2013 and 2018 mergers.
• Holding Company Structure: Allowed the bank to offer a broader range of services, including LCNB Investment Services and LCNB Wealth, beyond traditional banking.
• Leadership Solidification: Recent changes in late 2025, including the appointment of Robert Haines II as President, separate from the CEO role, solidify the leadership team for future growth.

If you are looking to dig deeper into the current shareholder base and the market's perspective on this growth strategy, you should read Exploring LCNB Corp. (LCNB) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

LCNB Corp. (LCNB) Ownership Structure

LCNB Corp. is controlled primarily by institutional investors, who hold the largest block of shares, but its decision-making structure is governed by a publicly-elected board and an executive team focused on regional banking growth.

This mix of institutional and retail ownership means the company must balance long-term strategic investments with the near-term expectations of the public market. It's a classic regional bank structure, where the big money managers hold significant sway, but the executive team ultimately runs the day-to-day operations.

Given Company's Current Status

LCNB Corp. is a Publicly Held financial holding company, which means its shares are available for purchase by the general public on a stock exchange. The company's common stock is actively traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market Exchange® under the ticker symbol LCNB. This public status mandates strict financial transparency and adherence to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations, giving you a clear view into its operations and financial health, as we detail in Breaking Down LCNB Corp. (LCNB) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

As of November 2025, the company maintains a market capitalization of approximately $216.06 million, reflecting its standing as a well-established, mid-sized regional bank holding company in Ohio. For a regional bank, a market cap in this range suggests solid, consistent operations, but it also means the stock can be more sensitive to local economic shifts than a money-center bank.

Given Company's Ownership Breakdown

The ownership structure of LCNB Corp. is dominated by institutional investors, such as mutual funds and asset managers, who collectively own the majority of the float (the shares available for public trading). This is a common setup for publicly traded regional banks, but it does mean that a few large funds-like BlackRock, Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc.-can exert significant influence on corporate governance matters.

Here's the quick math on who holds the shares as of the most recent 2025 fiscal year data:

The 6.21% insider ownership is a decent signal; it shows the executive team has real skin in the game, which defintely aligns their interests with yours as a shareholder.

Given Company's Leadership

The leadership team steering LCNB Corp. underwent strategic promotions in October 2025 as part of a comprehensive succession plan, separating the roles of President and Chief Executive Officer to enhance governance and accountability. This move is a positive sign for investors, showing a focus on strengthening the management structure for a larger, more complex business.

The key executives, who are responsible for managing the company's $2.244 billion in total assets as of September 30, 2025, include:

• Eric J. Meilstrup: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
• Robert C. Haines II: President (Promoted in October 2025, previously CFO for 17 years)
• Andrew Wallace: Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer (CFO) (Promoted in October 2025)
• Patricia L. Walter: Executive Vice President & Chief Risk Officer (CRO) (Promoted in October 2025)
• Lawrence P. Mulligan Jr.: Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer (COO)
• Bradley A. Ruppert: Executive Vice President & Chief Investment Officer (CIO)

The Board of Directors, chaired by Spencer S. Cropper, provides oversight to this executive team, ensuring strategic decisions serve the long-term interests of all stakeholders.

LCNB Corp. (LCNB) Mission and Values

LCNB Corp. operates on a core purpose centered on deep, local relationships and exceeding customer expectations, which drives its vision for long-term, profitable growth. This community-focused approach has sustained the bank since 1877, allowing it to manage total assets of nearly $4.2 billion as of mid-2025.

Given Company's Core Purpose

The company's cultural DNA is rooted in its long-standing reputation as a relationship-based financial institution serving Southwest and South-Central Ohio. This focus is a strategic driver, not just a feel-good statement, especially considering the company's net income for the first six months of 2025 was a strong $10.5 million.

Official Mission Statement (Core Purpose)

While a single, formal mission statement isn't always explicitly published, LCNB Corp.'s core purpose is consistently demonstrated through its operational priorities, which center on being a trusted, full-service partner in its local markets. They defintely prioritize community connection.

• Build strong, enduring relationships with customers and communities.
• Exceed customer expectations by providing a full array of personal and business banking services.
• Offer local, relationship-based financial services, including wealth and trust management.
• Maintain a strong corporate culture that includes a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Vision Statement (Long-Term Aspiration)

The company's vision is clearly focused on sustaining its local model while delivering value to shareholders through strategic expansion and operational efficiency. This is a realist's vision: grow, but stay true to the community foundation.

• Achieve long-term profitable growth by strengthening the balance sheet and optimizing recent acquisitions.
• Drive a strong return on assets (ROAA), which exceeded 1% for the second quarter of 2025.
• Continue to expand the investment services division, which has increased assets under management by over 300% at newly acquired branches over the last 12 months.
• Sustain a long track record of shareholder returns, as evidenced by the declaration of a $0.22 per common share quarterly cash dividend in late 2025.

Given Company slogan/tagline

LCNB Corp. uses a simple, direct tagline that emphasizes partnership, which aligns perfectly with its relationship-focused banking model.

• Let's do this together.

Understanding this community-first approach is crucial when evaluating the stock; it explains why LCNB Corp. is a stable regional player, not a high-beta growth stock. You can dive deeper into the ownership structure and market sentiment by Exploring LCNB Corp. (LCNB) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Here's the quick math on their core strength: net loans stood at $1.71 billion as of June 30, 2025, which shows their commitment to local lending remains the backbone of the business. What this estimate hides is the qualitative value of those long-term customer relationships, which are hard to quantify but essential for a bank's stability.

LCNB Corp. (LCNB) How It Works

LCNB Corp. operates as a community bank holding company, primarily generating revenue by taking deposits and lending those funds back to local customers and businesses in Southwest and South-Central Ohio.

The core business model is straightforward: create a spread between the interest earned on loans and investments (assets) and the interest paid on deposits (liabilities), which is the net interest margin. For the second quarter of 2025, LCNB's tax equivalent net interest margin expanded to 3.47%, showing strong profitability from its lending activities.

Given Company's Product/Service Portfolio

LCNB National Bank, the operating subsidiary, offers a full spectrum of financial services, catering to both the transactional needs of individuals and the complex financing and wealth management requirements of businesses and high-net-worth clients in its regional footprint.

Given Company's Operational Framework

The company creates value through a two-pronged approach: optimizing its balance sheet for lending profitability and aggressively growing its fee-based services. This is a smart way to diversify revenue beyond just interest rates.

The operational process focuses heavily on disciplined loan origination and managing the cost of funds. In the first half of 2025, LCNB originated $88.8 million in loans, demonstrating a consistent focus on asset growth. They also actively manage their portfolio by selling loans into the secondary market, which generated $615,000 in gains in Q2 2025, boosting non-interest income.

• Acquisition Integration: The firm is focused on integrating recent acquisitions, which has been a key driver of growth, especially in fee-based services.
• Revenue Diversification: Non-interest income, driven by fiduciary income and service charges, rose to $10.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025, a 30.7% increase year-over-year.
• Capital Management: Total assets at the end of Q3 2025 stood at $2.244 billion, with total shareholders' equity at $269.870 million, underscoring a strong financial position.

You can see the full picture of who is investing in this model by Exploring LCNB Corp. (LCNB) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Given Company's Strategic Advantages

LCNB's competitive edge isn't built on being the cheapest, but on being the most entrenched and relationship-focused option in its specific Ohio markets.

• Local Market Density: The company maintains a strong physical presence across ten counties in Southwest and South-Central Ohio, providing a 'local, relationship-based financial services' model that larger, national banks can't defintely replicate.
• Cross-Selling Success: A major strategic advantage is the successful cross-selling of LCNB Wealth Management services to customers in newly acquired branches, which has resulted in a year-over-year increase of assets under management by over 300% in those new markets.
• Strong Asset Quality: Management consistently points to strong asset quality as a foundation for long-term growth, with net charge-offs in Q2 2025 at a very low 0.02% of average loans.
• Profitability Momentum: The firm delivered a Q3 2025 net income of $6.936 million, a significant increase that reflects the success of its multi-year growth strategies and balance sheet actions.

LCNB Corp. (LCNB) How It Makes Money

LCNB Corp. primarily makes money by operating as a traditional community bank, generating the majority of its revenue from the difference between the interest earned on its loans and investments and the interest paid on customer deposits, which is called net interest income. A smaller, but increasingly important, portion of its earnings comes from fee-based services like wealth management and trust administration.

LCNB Corp.'s Revenue Breakdown

For the nine months ended September 30, 2025, LCNB Corp.'s total revenue was approximately $68.2 million, with the vast majority still coming from core banking activities. This breakdown shows the company's reliance on interest rate dynamics, but also the significant, growing contribution from non-interest sources like wealth management and service charges.

Here's the quick math: Net Interest Income for the nine months was $52.0 million, and Non-Interest Income was $16.2 million. The NII rose from $44.1 million in the same period last year, showing a strong increase due to strategic balance sheet moves. Non-Interest Income is defintely a growth engine, increasing by 12.2% year-over-year for the nine-month period.

Business Economics

The core economic driver for LCNB Corp. is the Net Interest Margin (NIM), which measures how efficiently the bank is lending money versus its cost of funding. The company has made deliberate moves to improve this margin by reducing higher-cost funding sources, like certain certificates of deposit, and increasing the yield on its loan portfolio.

• Net Interest Margin (NIM): The NIM expanded significantly to 3.57% for the third quarter of 2025, up from 2.84% in the same quarter last year, which is a massive 73 basis point improvement. This tells you they're successfully managing the spread in a high-rate environment.
• Loan Portfolio Strategy: Management is focused on refining the loan portfolio mix following recent acquisitions, even if it means temporary sluggishness in loan growth. They are prioritizing disciplined underwriting, which is a smart, risk-averse move right now.
• Fee-Based Services: The LCNB Wealth Management division is a key strategic growth area, providing a more stable, non-cyclical revenue stream. Fiduciary income, a major component of this, increased by an impressive 23.4% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2025. That's where the future earnings stability lies.
• Pricing Power: The bank's ability to reduce average interest rates paid on interest-bearing liabilities while increasing average rates earned on loans shows a solid degree of pricing power and effective liability management.

You can see how their strategic moves are paying off in the NIM.

LCNB Corp.'s Financial Performance

LCNB Corp.'s financial performance through the first three quarters of 2025 shows a significant jump in profitability and strong asset quality, reflecting the successful integration of recent acquisitions and strategic balance sheet optimization.

• Net Income: Net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, was $17.5 million, a dramatic increase from the $7.4 million reported in the same period last year. This is a huge jump in core profitability.
• Return on Assets (ROAA): The Return on Average Assets, a key measure of how well a bank uses its assets to generate profit, was 1.02% for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, which is a strong benchmark for a community bank.
• Asset Quality: Credit quality remains robust. Total provision for credit losses for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, was only $426,000, down from $1.3 million last year. Net charge-offs were also minimal, at just 0.02% of average loans for the nine-month period.
• Equity Strength: Total shareholders' equity stood at $269.870 million as of September 30, 2025, reflecting continued financial health and book value growth.

To understand the foundational principles guiding this performance, you should review their forward-looking strategy: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of LCNB Corp. (LCNB).

LCNB Corp. (LCNB) Market Position & Future Outlook

LCNB Corp. is a strong, community-focused bank that has successfully used strategic acquisitions to drive profitability, but its future growth trajectory is constrained by a cautious revenue outlook. The bank's immediate focus must be on maximizing its wealth management cross-sell opportunities to offset projected declines in core revenue streams.

Competitive Landscape

In the regional banking space, LCNB Corp. competes against much larger institutions, giving it a smaller overall market footprint but a significant advantage in local relationship banking. To be fair, its $2.244 billion in total assets as of Q3 2025 puts it in the community bank category, not the super-regional one.

Here's the quick math on how LCNB Corp. stacks up against two comparable, publicly-traded regional banks, based on relative asset size and core strengths. What this estimate hides is LCNB's deep, multi-county presence in Southwest and South-Central Ohio, which is its true competitive moat.

Opportunities & Challenges

You need to look at LCNB Corp.'s recent performance to see where the opportunities lie. The bank has done a good job of improving its net interest margin (NIM) and leveraging its recent M&A activity, but the long-term revenue forecast is defintely a headwind.

The company's focus on integrating acquisitions like Eagle Financial Bancorp and Cincinnati Federal is paying off, particularly in its higher-margin non-interest income businesses. This is where the money is now. For a deeper dive into the numbers, check out Breaking Down LCNB Corp. (LCNB) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Industry Position

LCNB Corp. holds a solid, though small, position as a high-performing community bank in the Ohio market. Its Q3 2025 net income of $6.9 million reflects effective balance sheet optimization and a successful strategy of reducing more expensive borrowings.

The separation of the CEO and President roles, along with the appointment of new CFO and Chief Risk Officer positions in late 2025, signals a clear focus on succession planning and executing a more complex, growth-oriented strategic plan. That's a strong move for long-term stability.

• Maintain a strong dividend yield, recently declared at $0.22 per common share quarterly, continuing a 26-year payment streak.
• Focus on non-interest income streams, especially LCNB Wealth Management, which hit a record $1.40 billion in assets at the end of Q1 2025.
• Keep asset quality tight; non-performing assets to total assets were a low 0.21% at March 31, 2025.

The core task now is to translate the profitability gains from balance sheet management and acquisitions into sustainable, organic revenue growth to overcome the cautious long-term forecast.