First Financial Bank earns highest rating from Federal Reserve

CINCINNATI — First Financial Bank (Nasdaq: FFBC) has earned the highest possible rating of Outstanding from the Federal Reserve Board for its performance under the Community Reinvestment Act. The Outstanding rating follows a broad evaluation of First Financial’s record of meeting the credit needs of its entire community, including low and moderate income neighborhoods, consistent with the safe and sound operation of the institution. This is the second consecutive review period in which First Financial has received the highest rating, which is achieved by only a small number of banks.

“Reaching the highest possible rating for the second consecutive period is the best possible demonstration of our commitment to help our clients and communities thrive,” said Roddell McCullough, chief corporate responsibility officer for First Financial. “I’m proud of all the team members who are working every day to help us maximize our impact on the communities we serve, and grateful for the community partners we work with to have such a meaningful impact on our neighbors.”

First Financial’s recognition came after an extensive evaluation of the bank for the period of 2021-2024. The Federal Reserve’s report cited many factors that led to the Outstanding rating, including:

* Excellent responsiveness to credit needs,

* A good distribution of loans among borrowers of different income levels and businesses and farms of different sizes,

* An excellent record of serving the credit needs of low-income individuals and areas and very small businesses,

* Makes a significant level of qualified community development investments and grants,

* A leader in providing community development services.

First Financial is currently working toward a $2.4 billion goal under its Community Benefits Agreement for 2024-2028, and has already achieved a loan, investment and marketing total of $640 million, including $5.6 million in donations. This comes after the bank successfully concluded its previous CBA, during which it achieved 192 percent of its $1.75 billion goal in lending and investments for 2018-2023.