First Financial Bank (Ohio)

This article is about the Cincinnati-based bank. For the Terre Haute, Indiana-based bank, see First Financial Bank. For the Abilene, Texas-based bank, see First Financial Bank (Texas).

First Financial Bancorp is a regional bank headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, with its operations centers in the northern Cincinnati suburb of Springdale, and Greensburg, Indiana. Founded in 1863, First Financial has the sixth oldest national bank charter and has 110 locations in Ohio, Kentucky, and throughout Indiana. First Financial acquired Irwin Financial Corp and its subsidiaries through a government assisted transaction on September 18, 2009.^[2][3][4][5]

First Financial Bancorp

First Financial Bank headquarters in Cincinnati
Trade name	First Financial Bank
Company type	Public
Traded as	Nasdaq: FFBC S&P 600 component
Industry	Banking
Founded	August 15, 1863; 160 years ago (1863-08-15) in Hamilton, Ohio as the First National Bank of Hamilton
Headquarters	Cincinnati, Ohio
Area served	Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky
Key people	Archie Brown (CEO)
Revenue	US$545 million (2018)^[1]
Operating income	US$449 million (2018)^[1]
Net income	US$172 million (2018)^[1]
Total assets	US$14 billion (2018)^[1]
Total equity	US$2 billion (2018)^[1]
Website	bankatfirst.com

The company's subsidiary, First Financial Bank, N.A., founded in 1863, provides banking and financial services products through its three lines of business: commercial, consumer and wealth management. The commercial and consumer units provide traditional banking services to business and consumer clients. First Financial Wealth Management provides wealth planning, portfolio management, trust and estate, brokerage and retirement plan services and had approximately $15.9 billion in assets as of September 30, 2020.^[6]

History

First Financial Bank, N.A., was founded in 1863 as the First National Bank of Hamilton and was granted charter number 56 on August 10, 1863, under the National Bank Act. The bank opened its first branch in Hamilton, Ohio and started business on August 15, 1863.^[7] In 1923, the bank's name was changed to First National Bank and Trust Company of Hamilton when the trust division was created.^[8]

In 1980, the First National Bank of Hamilton consolidated operations with the First National Bank of Middletown to form the First National Bank of Southwestern Ohio. The acquisition of smaller institutions allowed it to expand outside Butler County.^[7] First Financial Bancorp, a holding company, was formed in 1983.^[8]

In 2008, First Financial Bancorp relocated its headquarters to Norwood while the headquarters for the bank remained in Hamilton.^[9] The following year, the holding company moved their headquarters to the Atrium One building in Downtown Cincinnati before finally settling into the Chemed Center building, renamed First Financial Center, in 2011.^[10][11]

In July 2017, First Financial agreed to purchase Greensburg, Indiana based MainSource Bank for $1 billion, making First Financial the fourth-largest bank in Cincinnati, and the second-largest local bank.^[12] The combined organization will continue to be called First Financial Bancorp. The acquisition was finalized on April 2, 2018.^[13] All MainSource computer systems and deposits were transitioned to First Financial on May 29, 2018.^[14][15][16]

References

1. "Annual Report 2018" (PDF). bankatfirst.com. First Financial Bank. February 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
2. Andrews, Greg (22 October 2009). "First Financial gets sweet deal on Irwin Financial's bank assets". Indianapolis Business Journal. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
3. Form 8-K for assumption of liabilities and assets: "Commission File Number 0-12379". SEC. 18 September 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
4. "Failed Bank Information for Irwin Union Bank and Trust Company, Columbus, IN". FDIC.
5. Mozee, Carla (18 September 2009). "First Financial buys Irwin banking operations". MarketWatch.
6. "First Financial Bancorp Announces Stock Repurchase Plan". Cision PR Newswire. 22 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
7. Levingston, Chelsey (August 25, 2013). "First Financial Bank marks 150th anniversary of its founding in Hamilton". Hamilton JournalNews.
8. "Get To Know Us". First Financial Bank. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
9. "First Financial moving headquarters to Norwood". Cincinnati Enquirer. January 17, 2008. p. 53 – via Newspapers.com. First Financial Bancorp recently announced it will move its headquarters to Norwood by early this year. The shift by the bank holding company will affect only a handful of employees since the subsidiary First Financial Bank will remain based in Hamilton. The bank was founded in 1863 as the First National Bank of Hamilton.
10. Watkins, Steve (December 15, 2009). "First Financial moving HQ to Atrium One". Cincinnati Business Journal.
11. "First Financial moving HQ to Chemed Center". Cincinnati Business Journal. June 19, 2011.
12. Watkins, Steve (25 July 2017). "First Financial paying $1 billion to buy one of Greater Cincinnati's largest banks (Video)". Cincinnati Business Courier. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
13. "First Financial Bancorp. and MainSource Financial Group, Inc. Complete Merger". Cision PR Newswire. Cincinnati. 2 April 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
14. Perleberg, Mike (29 May 2018). "MainSource Branches Reopen As First Financial Bank". WSCH. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
15. "Online and Mobile Banking FAQs for Personal and Non-Cash Management Business Clients" (PDF). First Financial Bank. 23 May 2018.^{[permanent dead link]}
16. . First Financial Bank. Cincinnati, OH. 2 April 2018. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.

External links

• Official website

•  Banks portal