** Shares of lender HBT Financial HBT.O fall 2.90% to $26.77

** HBT reports Q4 net income of $18.94 million, or 60 cents per share, in the three months ended December 31, compared with $20.27 million, or 64 cents per share, a year earlier

** Loans increased by $56.2 million, driven by new originations in construction, land development and multi-family segments

** Deposits rose by $12.1 million, despite moving $50 million off balance sheet due to strong liquidity

** Co anticipates merger with CNB Bank to close in Q1 2026

** Including session's move, HBT up 15.8% in the last 12 months

(Reporting by Pragyan Kalita in Bengaluru)

((Pragyan.Kalita@thomsonreuters.com;))