Business
First Financial Bancorp. Announces the Completion of its Acquisition of BankFinancial
First Financial Bancorp. (Nasdaq: FFBC) ("First Financial" or the "Company") announced today that, on January 1, 2026, it will close its previously announced acquisition of Chicago-based BankFinancial Corporation ("BankFinancial") through an all-stock transaction, expanding First Financial's presence in the Chicago market with its first retail consumer-focused locations.
About this update from First Financial Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"CINCINNATI, Dec. 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- First Financial Bancorp. (Nasdaq: FFBC) ("First Financial" or the "Company") announced today that, on January 1, 2026, it will close its previously announced acquisition of Chicago-based BankFinancial Corporation ("BankFinancial") through an all-stock transaction, expanding First Financial's presence in the Chicago market with its first retail consumer-focused locations.","length":449,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"image","alt":"First Financial Bancorp. Announces the Completion of its Acquisition of BankFinancial","displaySize":"","headline":null,"caption":"First Financial Bancorp. Announces the Completion of its Acquisition of BankFinancial","className":"","disableSlideshowImg":false,"size":{"original":{"width":400,"height":300,"url":"https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/7ac877fb0dc1e9e5d4506faf77cc6396"},"resized":{"url":"https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/CEEq.b8LF6VMtvr4WIx5mw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTUyOTtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/7ac877fb0dc1e9e5d4506faf77cc6396","width":400,"height":300}},"href":"https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2853325/First_Financial_Bancorp_Aquisition.html","hrefExternal":true,"rel":"nofollow"},{"type":"text","content":"First Financial adds BankFinancial's strong core deposit franchise, with 18 financial centers in the area, plus its regional and national commercial loan, lease and deposit lines of business. With the completion of this acquisition, First Financial will now have $22 billion in assets and offer an even broader range of consumer, commercial, specialty lending and wealth management services.","length":395,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":""Expanding our presence in Chicago presents us with significant opportunities for growth and profitability because of the many solutions we can bring to new and existing clients in this market," said Archie Brown, president and chief executive officer of First Financial Bank. "First Financial exists to create opportunities to help our clients and communities thrive, and we look forward to the impact we can have with this approach in Chicago."","length":466,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"BankFinancial locations will continue to operate under the name "BankFinancial" until the completion of the conv...