We trace our history to a small-town merchant named Joseph Ireland Irwin who owned a dry goods store in Colombus, Indiana. During the Civil War when other merchants asked Mr. Irwin to keep their money in his safe each night, he decided to start a banking department within his store.

In 1871, Mr. Irwin set up a separate entity called Irwin's Bank. This was the genesis of Irwin Financial Corporation, now a thriving group of North American interrelated financial services companies.

Today, Irwin Financial Corporation is a publicly held company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (IFC) that employs 3,000 people and controls $5 billion in assets.

In addition to Irwin Commercial Finance, Irwin Financial Corporation is the parent company of subsidiaries in mortgage banking, commercial banking and home equity lending.