First Financial Secures Regulatory Approval for Acquisition of BankFinancial (Form 8-K)

First Financial Secures Regulatory Approval for Acquisition of BankFinancial

•First Financial Bancorp. ("First Financial") secured regulatory approval of its announced acquisition of Chicago-based BankFinancial Corporation ("BankFinancial").

•Closing is anticipated to take place on or around January 1, 2026.

Cincinnati, OH - December 15, 2025 - First Financial (Nasdaq: FFBC) announced that it received regulatory approval from the Federal Reserve and the Ohio Department of Financial Institutions to complete its previously announced acquisition of BankFinancial. Closing is anticipated to take place on or around January 1, 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and approval by BankFinancial shareholders.

In August 2025, First Financial announced the acquisition of BankFinancial in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $142 million as of the date of the merger agreement.

More information on the transition is available at bankatfirst.com.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp. is a Cincinnati, Ohio based bank holding company. As of September 30, 2025, First Financial had $18.6 billion in assets, $11.7 billion in loans, $14.4 billion in deposits and $2.6 billion in shareholders' equity. First Financial's subsidiary, First Financial Bank, founded in 1863, provides banking and financial services products through its six lines of business: Commercial, Retail Banking, Investment Commercial Real Estate, Mortgage Banking, Commercial Finance and Wealth Management. These business units provide traditional banking services to business and retail clients. Wealth Management provides wealth planning, portfolio management, trust and estate, brokerage and retirement plan services and had approximately $4.0 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2025. First Financial operated 127 full service banking centers as of September 30, 2025, located in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois, while the Commercial Finance business lends into targeted industry verticals on a nationwide basis. In 2025, First Financial Bank received its second consecutive Outstanding rating from the Federal Reserve for its performance under the Community Reinvestment Act and was recognized as a Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award winner, one of only 70 Gallup clients worldwide to receive this designation. Additional information about First Financial, including its products, services and banking locations, is available at www.bankatfirst.com.