SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

(X) QUARTERLY REPORT UNDER SECTION 13 OR 15 (d)
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

FOR THE QUARTERLY PERIOD ENDED
September 30, 2004

COMMISSION FILE NUMBER 0-10161

FIRSTMERIT CORPORATION

III CASCADE PLAZA, 7TH FLOOR, AKRON, OHIO
44308-1103
(Address of principal executive offices)

(330) 996-6300
(Telephone Number)

     Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. YES (X) NO (   )

     Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
YES (X) NO (   )

     As of October 31, 2004, 84,287,452 shares of the registrant’s common stock, without par value, were outstanding.

Table of Contents

FIRSTMERIT CORPORATION

PART I — FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

     The following statements included in the quarterly unaudited report to shareholders are incorporated by reference:

Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2004 (unaudited), December 31, 2003 and September 30, 2003 (unaudited)

Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2004 (unaudited) and 2003 (unaudited)

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2004 (unaudited) and 2003 (unaudited)

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements as of September 30, 2004 (unaudited)

ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition as of September 30, 2004, December 31, 2003 and September 30, 2003 and Results of Operations for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2004 and 2003.

ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Management’s Evaluation of Internal Control over Financial Reporting for the Quarter Ended September 30, 2004.

PART II — OTHER INFORMATION

ITEM 6. EXHIBITS

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
FIRSTMERIT CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FIRSTMERIT CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FIRSTMERIT CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

FirstMerit Corporation and Subsidiaries
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
September 30, 2004 (Unaudited) (Dollars in thousands)

1. Company Organization and Financial Presentation — FirstMerit Corporation (“Corporation”), is a bank holding company whose principal assets are the common stock of its wholly owned subsidiary, FirstMerit Bank, N. A. The Corporation’s other subsidiaries include Citizens Savings Corporation of Stark County, FirstMerit Capital Trust I, FirstMerit Community Development Corporation, FirstMerit Credit Life Insurance Company, FMT, Inc., SF Development Corp and Realty Facility Holdings XV, L.L.C.

     The consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2003 has been derived from the audited consolidated financial statements at that date. The accompanying unaudited interim financial statements reflect all adjustments (consisting only of normally recurring accruals) that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair statement of the results for the interim periods presented. Certain information and note disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America have been omitted in accordance with the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The consolidated financial statements of the Corporation as of September 30, 2004 and 2003, and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2004 and September 30, 2003 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved for the full fiscal year or for any future period. These unaudited consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003.

     Certain previously reported amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current reporting presentation.

2. Recent Accounting Pronouncements — During December 2003 the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 132 (revised 2003) “Employers’ Disclosure about Pensions and other Postretirement Benefits an Amendment of FASB Statements No. 87, 88, and 106.” This statement revised employers’ disclosures about pension plans and other postretirement benefit plans. It did not change the measurement or recognition of those plans required by SFAS No. 87 “Employers’ Accounting for Pensions,” No. 88 “Employers’ Accounting for Settlements and Curtailments of Defined Benefit Pension Plans and for Termination Benefits,” and No. 106 “Postretirement Benefits Other than Pensions.” This statement retains the disclosure requirements contained in the original SFAS No. 132 and requires additional disclosures about the assets, obligations, cash flows, and net periodic benefit cost of defined benefit pension plans and other defined benefit postretirement plans. These additional disclosures have been included in Note 10 of these consolidated financial statements.

     In December 2002, the FASB issued SFAS No. 148, “Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation – Transition and Disclosure.” SFAS No. 148 is an amendment of SFAS No. 123 (“Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation”) and provides alternative methods of transition for a voluntary change to the fair value based method of accounting for stock-based employee compensation. SFAS No. 148 also requires prominent disclosures in both annual and interim financial statements about the method of accounting for stock-based employee compensation and the effect of the method used on reported results. The Corporation currently accounts for stock-based employee compensation under the provisions of Accounting Principles Board (“APB”) No. 25 “Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees” and related interpretations. No stock based employee compensation cost is reflected in net income, as all options granted under those plans had an exercise price equal to the market value of the underlying common stock on the date of grant. The following table illustrates the effect on net income and earnings

per share if the Corporation had applied the fair value recognition provisions of SFAS No. 123 to stock based employee compensation. The Black-Scholes option-pricing model was used to estimate the fair market value of the options at the date of grant. This model was originally developed for use in estimating the fair value of traded options, which have different characteristics from the Corporation’s employee stock options. The model is also sensitive to changes in subjective assumptions, which can materially affect fair value estimates. As a result, management believes that the Black-Scholes model may not necessarily provide a reliable single measure of the fair value of employee stock options. Other models are currently under review and may be used by the Corporation for future disclosure.

     On October 13, 2004, the FASB voted to give public companies until their first fiscal quarter beginning after June 15, 2005 to adopt the standard requiring the expensing of stock options (SFAS No. 123r) postponing its previously announced adoption date for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2004.

     In December 2003, President Bush signed the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (“Modernization Act”), which introduces a prescription drug benefit under Medicare, into law. On May 19, 2004, FASB issued FASB Staff Position FAS No. 106-2, “Accounting and Disclosure Requirements Related to the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003” (“FSP FAS No. 106-2”) which provides guidance on accounting for the effects of the new Medicare prescription drug legislation by employers whose prescription drug benefits are actuarially equivalent to the drug benefit under Medicare

Part D. The Corporation early adopted this FSP in the first quarter of 2004 and has recognized the effect of the Modernization Act in the calculation of its postretirement benefit liability as of January 1, 2004. This change is more fully described in Note 10 (Benefit Plans) of these consolidated financial statements.

     On March 9, 2004, the SEC issued SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 105 (“SAB No. 105”) which summarized the views of the SEC staff regarding the application of generally accepted accounting principles to loan commitments accounted for as derivative instruments. Specifically, SAB No. 105 indicated that the fair value of loan commitments that are required to follow derivative accounting under SFAS No. 133, should not consider the expected future cash flows related to the associated servicing of the future loan. Prior to SAB No.105, the Corporation did not consider the expected future cash flows related to the associated servicing in determining the fair value of loan commitments. The adoption of SAB No. 105 did not have a material effect on the Corporation’s financial result.

     On September 30, 2004, the Emerging Issues Task Force (“EITF”) of the FASB issued a final FASB Staff Position, FSP EITF Issue 03-1-1, which delayed the effective date for the measurement and recognition guidance included in EITF Issue 03-1 which prescribed the criteria that should be used to determine when an investment is considered impaired, whether that impairment is other than temporary, and the measurement of an impairment loss. The disclosures about unrealized losses that have not been recognized as other-than-temporary impairments have not been deferred and appear in Footnote 4 (Investments) in the 2003 Form 10-K. Management is currently evaluating the impact of this accounting guidance on the Corporation’s financial condition and results of operations.

3. Critical Accounting Policies — The accounting and reporting policies of the Corporation are in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted within the United States of America and conform to general practices within the banking industry. Accounting and reporting policies for the allowance for loan losses, income taxes, mortgage servicing rights, derivative instruments and hedging activities, and pension and postretirement benefits are deemed critical since they involve the use of estimates and require significant management judgments. Application of assumptions different than those used by management could result in material changes in the Corporation’s financial position or results of operations. Note 1 (Summary of Significant Accounting Policies) and Note 5 (Allowance for Loan Losses), as described in the 2003 Form 10-K, provide considerable detail with regard to the Corporation’s methodology and reporting of the allowance for loan losses. Additional information for income tax accounting is contained within Note 1, as well as in Note 11 (Federal Income Taxes) as described in the 2003 Form 10-K. Within the “Other Income” section of this Form 10-Q, the Corporation’s basis for accounting for mortgage servicing rights, which is based on a discounted cash flow model believed to be comparable to those used by other financial institutions, is discussed in more detail. Accounting for mortgage servicing rights was also discussed in the 2003 Form 10-K in Note 1 and Note 6 (Mortgage Servicing Rights and Mortgage Servicing Activity). Derivative instruments and hedging activities are described more fully in Note 9 (Accounting for Derivatives) in these consolidated financial statements, as well as Note 1, Note 16 (Fair Value Disclosure of Financial Instruments), and Note 17(Financial Instruments with Off-Balance-Sheet Risk) of the 2003 Form 10-K. A description of the plans and the assumptions used to estimate the liabilities for pension and postretirement benefits is described in Note 12 (Benefit Plans) to the 2003 Form 10-K as well as Note 10 (Benefit Plans) in these consolidated financial statements.

4. Investment Securities — All investment securities of the Corporation are classified as available for sale. The available for sale classification provides the Corporation with more flexibility to respond, through the portfolio, to changes in market interest rates, or to increases in loan demand or deposit withdrawals.

The book value and market value of investment securities classified as available for sale are as follows:

     Expected maturities will differ from contractual maturities based on the issuers’ rights to call or prepay obligations with or without call or prepayment penalties. Securities with remaining maturities over five years consist of mortgage and asset backed securities.

     The carrying amount of investment securities pledged to secure trust and public deposits and for purposes required or permitted by law amounted to approximately $2.2 billion at September 30, 2004, $2.0 billion at December 31, 2003, and $1.8 billion at September 30, 2003.

5. Allowance for loan losses (“ALL”) — The Corporation’s Credit Policy Division manages credit risk by establishing common credit policies for its subsidiary bank, participating in approval of their loans, conducting reviews of loan portfolios, providing centralized consumer

underwriting, collections and loan operation services, and overseeing loan workouts. The Corporation’s objective is to minimize losses from its commercial lending activities and to maintain consumer losses at acceptable levels that are stable and consistent with growth and profitability objectives.

The activity within the ALL for the current and prior year quarters, and the full year ended 12/31/03 is shown in the following table:

Allowance for Loan Losses Activity

6. Goodwill and Intangible Assets – The following table summarizes goodwill and intangible assets:

Amortization expense for intangible assets was $0.22 million for both quarters ending September 30, 2004 and 2003. The following table shows the estimated future amortization expense for deposit base intangible assets based on existing asset balances at December 31, 2003 for the years ended:

     During the first quarter of 2004, the Corporation conducted its annual impairment testing as required by SFAS No. 142 “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets,” and concluded that goodwill was not impaired. There have been no events subsequent to that date which would change the conclusions reached.

7. Earnings per share — The reconcilation between basic and diluted earnings per share(“EPS”) is presented as follows:

For the quarters ended September 30, 2004 and 2003, options to purchase 2.3 million and 4.6 million shares, respectively were outstanding but not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share because they were antidilutive.

8. Segment Information — The Corporation provides a diversified range of banking and certain nonbanking financial services and products through its various subsidiaries. Management reports the Corporation’s results through its major segment classification, Supercommunity Banking. Included in the Parent Company, Other Subsidiaries and Eliminations category are certain nonbanking affiliates, and eliminations of certain intercompany transactions. Also included are portions of certain assets, capital, and support functions not specifically identifiable with Supercommunity Banking.

     The Corporation’s business is conducted solely in the United States. The following tables present a summary of financial results as of and for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2004 and 2003 and the full year ended December 31, 2003:

9. Accounting for Derivatives — The Corporation follows the provisions of SFAS No. 133, “Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities” in accounting for its derivative activities. At September 30, 2004, the Corporation had various interest rate swaps in place that were accounted for as fair value hedges under SFAS No. 133 since their purpose is to “swap”

fixed interest rate liabilities and assets to a variable interest rate basis. All but one of the interest rate swaps are associated with the Corporation’s fixed-rate commercial loan swap program that was initiated during the first quarter of 2003 and the remaining interest rate swap converts the fixed interest rate of mandatorily redeemable trust preferred securities to a variable rate. All of these interest rate swaps, with the exception of the one associated with the mandatorily redeemable trust preferred securities, qualify for the “shortcut method of accounting” as prescribed in SFAS No. 133. The shortcut method of accounting requires that the hedge and the hedged item meet certain qualifying criteria. If the swap qualifies for the shortcut method of accounting then no hedge ineffectiveness can be assumed and the need to test for ongoing effectiveness is eliminated. For hedges that qualify for the shortcut method of accounting, the fair value of the swap and the fair value of the hedged item are recorded on the balance sheets and statements of income and comprehensive income. The remaining hedge does not meet all the criteria necessary to be considered for the shortcut method of accounting. Therefore, the long-haul method of accounting is utilized. The long-haul method of accounting requires periodic testing of hedge effectiveness with the portion of the hedge deemed to be ineffective reported in earnings.

     In the third quarter of 2004, the Corporation entered into forward swap agreements which, in effect, fix the borrowing costs of certain variable rate liabilities in the future. These transactions do not qualify for the short-cut method of accounting under SFAS No. 133 as previously discussed. The Corporation classifies these transactions as cash flow hedges, with any hedge ineffectiveness being reported in current earnings. It is anticipated that the hedge will prove to be highly effective. A correlation analysis performed at quarter-end proved that the hedge was effective.

     Additionally, in the normal course of business, the Corporation sells originated mortgage loans into the secondary mortgage loan markets. The Corporation maintains a risk management program to protect and manage interest-rate risk and pricing associated with its mortgage commitment pipeline. The Corporation’s mortgage commitment pipeline included interest-rate lock commitments (“IRLCs”) that have been extended to borrowers who have applied for loan funding and met certain defined credit and underwriting standards. During the term of the IRLCs, the Corporation is exposed to interest-rate risk, in that the value of the IRLCs may change significantly before the loans close. To mitigate this interest-rate risk, the Corporation enters into various derivatives by selling loans forward to investors using forward commitments. In accordance with SFAS No. 133, the Corporation classifies and accounts for IRLCs as nondesignated derivatives that are recorded at fair value with changes in value recorded to current earnings. The forward sale commitments used to manage the risk on the IRLCs are also classified and accounted for as nondesignated derivatives and, therefore, recorded at fair value with changes recorded to current earnings. During 2003, the Corporation implemented a SFAS No. 133 hedging program for its mortgage loan warehouse to gain protection for the changes in fair value of the mortgage loan warehouse and the forward commitments. As such, both the mortgage loan warehouse the forward commitments are recorded at fair value with changes in value recorded to current earnings.

     In 2003, the Corporation began to enter into derivative contracts by purchasing To Be Announced Mortgage Backed Securities (“TBA Securities”) to help mitigate the interest-rate risk associated with its mortgage servicing rights (“MSR”). During the third quarter of 2004, options on treasury securities, options on mortgage-backed securities and swaptions were utilitzed to enhance the effectiveness of the economic hedge associated with the MSR. Within the “Other Income” section of these consolidated financial statements and Note 6 to the 2003 Form 10-K, the Corporation’s basis for accounting for mortgage servicing rights is discussed in more detail. In accordance with SFAS No. 133, the Corporation classifies and accounts for these

instruments as nondesignated derivatives. Accordingly, these securities are recorded at fair value with changes in value recorded to current earnings.

10. Benefit Plans – The Corporation sponsors several qualified and nonqualified pension and other postretirement benefit plans for certain of its employees. The net periodic benefit cost is based on estimated values provided by outside actuaries. The components of net periodic benefit cost are as follows:

     The Corporation made a contribution to the pension plan in the amount of $7.7 million during the quarter ended September 30, 2004. On December 8, 2003, President Bush signed the new Medicare legislation into law as disclosed in Note 2 of these consolidated Financial statements. This law provides for a federal subsidy to sponsors of

retiree health care benefit plans that provide a benefit that is at least actuarially equivalent to the benefit established by the law. The federal subsidy in the law results in a $1.6 million reduction in our accumulated postretirement benefit obligation. Concurrently, the Corporation amended its postretirement benefits plan to limit and cap benefits prospectively. The total impact of both changes on our actuarial liability was a decrease of $13.6 million and is being accounted for as an actuarial gain that will be amortized as a reduction of our periodic cost and liability. The full year impact for 2004 is anticipated to be $2.2 million and $0.5 million for the quarter ending September 30, 2004.

     On May 19, 2004 the FASB issued FSP No. 106-2 that provided final guidance on the accounting for the effects of the new prescription drug legislation by employers whose prescription drug benefits are actuarially equivalent to the drug benefit under Medicare Part D. The Corporation early adopted the provisions of the FSP during the first quarter of 2004 in accordance with the final guidance.

11. Contingencies — The nature of the Corporation’s business results in a certain amount of litigation. Accordingly, FirstMerit Corporation and its subsidiaries are subject to various pending and threatened lawsuits in which claims for monetary damages are asserted. Management, after consultation with legal counsel, is of the opinion that the ultimate liability of such pending matters would not have a material effect on the Corporation’s financial condition and results of operations.

ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Fully-tax Equivalent Interest Rates and Interest Differential

FIRSTMERIT CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES