8-K

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported)    December 27, 2005       

FIRSTMERIT CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Ohio	0-10161	34-1339938
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)

III Cascade Plaza, 7th Floor Akron, Ohio	44308
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

(330) 996-6300

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

      o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

      o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

      o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

      o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

ITEM 1.01 ENTRY INTO A MATERIAL DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT.

     On December 27, 2005, FirstMerit Corporation (the “Company”) announced that the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors approved the accelerated vesting of out-of-the-money and unvested stock options (the “Options”) to purchase common stock of the Company outstanding under the Company’s Amended and Restated 2002 Stock Plan (“2002 Plan”). The decision to accelerate the vesting of the Options was made primarily to reduce non-cash compensation expense that would have been recorded in the Company’s income statement in future periods upon the adoption of Financial Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 123(R) “Share-Based Payment” in January, 2006. The number of shares, exercise prices and terms of the Options subject to acceleration remain unchanged. A copy of the press release announcing this decision is attached as Exhibit 99.1 hereto and incorporated by reference herein.

ITEM 9.01 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS.

     (c) Exhibits.

Exhibit Number	Description
99.1	Press Release dated December 27, 2005

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Signature

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

	FirstMerit Corporation
By:	/s/ Nancy H. Worman
	Nancy H. Worman Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller

Date: December 28, 2005

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EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

IMMEDIATE

Analysts: Tom O’Malley	Media: Jacque Sir Louis
(330) 384-7109	(330) 849-8877

FIRSTMERIT CORPORATION ANNOUNCES
ACCELERATED VESTING PLAN

Akron, Ohio – December 27, 2005 — FirstMerit Corporation (Nasdaq: FMER) today announced that the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors approved the accelerated vesting of out-of-the-money and unvested stock options to purchase common stock of FirstMerit Corporation outstanding under the Corporation’s Amended and Restated 2002 Stock Plan (“2002 Plan”).

The decision to accelerate the vesting of these out-of-the-money outstanding unvested stock options (“Options”) was made primarily to reduce non-cash compensation expense that would have been recorded in the company’s income statement in future periods upon the adoption of Financial Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 123(R) “Share-Based Payment” in January, 2006. The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of the Corporation is authorized under the 2002 Plan to prescribe the time of the exercise of stock options and to accelerate the time at which stock options become exercisable. As a result of this decision, the Corporation expects to reduce the after-tax stock option expense it would have been required to record by approximately $2.4 million or $0.03 per share in 2006 and $1.6 million or $0.02 per share in 2007.

As a result of this vesting acceleration, options to purchase approximately 1.8 million shares of FirstMerit stock become exercisable immediately. These Options would have vested through February, 2008. Based upon the Corporation’s closing stock price of $26.32, on the date of accelerated vesting, all of the Options were out-of-the-money, that is, the Options’ exercise price was greater than the current market value of the Corporation’s stock. The number of shares, exercise prices and terms of the Options, subject to acceleration, remain the same.

ABOUT FIRSTMERIT CORPORATION

FirstMerit Corporation (Nasdaq:FMER) is a diversified financial services company, with assets of $10.3 billion as of September 30, 2005, and 160 banking offices in 24 Ohio and Western Pennsylvania counties. FirstMerit provides a complete range of banking and financial services to consumers and businesses through its core operations. Principal wholly-owned subsidiaries include: FirstMerit Bank, N.A., FirstMerit Mortgage Corporation, FirstMerit Title Agency, Ltd., FirstMerit Credit Life Insurance Company, and FirstMerit Community Development Corporation.

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