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BUSINESS COMBINATIONS
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2026
Business Combination [Abstract]  
BUSINESS COMBINATIONS BUSINESS COMBINATIONS
Finward Bancorp - Pending

In July 2026, First Financial Bancorp entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger with Finward Bancorp, an Indiana corporation. Upon completion of the transaction, Peoples Bank, an Indiana state chartered bank, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Finward Bancorp, will merge into First Financial Bank. As of June 30, 2026, Finward Bancorp operated 24 full-service banking offices and had, on an unaudited basis, approximately $2.0 billion of total assets, $1.5 billion of total loans and $1.7 billion of total deposits. The completion of this transaction will expand First Financial’s presence in the Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland markets with a strong core deposit franchise while supplementing its existing commercial banking and wealth management lines of business.

Upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the merger agreement, at the effective time of the merger, each share of common stock of Finward Bancorp will be converted into the right to receive 1.35 shares of First Financial common stock.

First Financial received regulatory approval from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for the Finward acquisition. The completion of the merger is subject to additional customary conditions, including authorization for listing on the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC of the shares of First Financial Common Stock to be issued in connection with the merger, subject to official notice of issuance, the receipt of all specified governmental consents and approvals, including approval from the State of Ohio, that are necessary to consummate the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement, and the absence of any order or other restraint preventing the consummation of the merger. Each party’s obligation to complete the merger is also subject to certain additional customary conditions, including, subject to certain exceptions, the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the other party, performance in all material respects by the other party of its obligations under the merger agreement, and receipt by such party of an opinion from counsel to the effect that the merger will qualify as a reorganization.

Subsequent to the end of the third quarter, Finward's shareholders approved the transaction at a virtual special meeting held on November 2, 2026. No approval of First Financial shareholders is required. First Financial expects the acquisition to close in January 2027.

BankFinancial Corporation

Effective January 1, 2026, BankFinancial, National Association, a national banking association, and a wholly owned subsidiary of BankFinancial Corporation, merged into First Financial Bank. Pursuant to the merger agreement, each share of BankFinancial Corporation common stock was converted into 0.48 shares of First Financial common stock, or 5,980,878 total shares, valuing the transaction at $149.7 million based on the closing price of First Financial stock at December 31, 2025.

The BankFinancial transaction was accounted for using the acquisition method of accounting and accordingly, assets acquired, liabilities assumed and consideration exchanged were recorded at estimated fair value on the acquisition date in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 805, Business Combinations. The fair value measurements of assets acquired and liabilities assumed were $1.4 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively. Acquisition accounting adjustments are considered preliminary at September 30, 2026. These fair value measurements are subject to refinement for up to one year after the closing date of the acquisition as additional information relative to closing date fair values become available, and the measurement period ends January 1, 2027. Changes to the acquisition-date fair values of assets acquired, liabilities assumed, or consideration transferred during the measurement period may result in adjustments to the bargain purchase gain.

As the purchase price for BankFinancial was less than the fair value of the net identifiable assets acquired, the transaction resulted in the recognition of a gain on bargain purchase of $12.1 million. This gain is recorded within Noninterest Income in the Company's Consolidated Statement of Income and arose primarily from transaction-specific market factors, including the relative profitability profile of BankFinancial and the Company’s strategic focus on BankFinancial’s core deposit franchise and Chicago market presence. The Company reassessed the recognition and measurement of the identifiable assets acquired, liabilities assumed and consideration transferred before recognizing the gain.
This acquisition expands First Financial’s presence in the Chicago market with a strong core deposit franchise while supplementing the Company's existing commercial banking and wealth management lines of business. Operating results from the BankFinancial acquisition have been included in the Consolidated Statements of Income since the acquisition date.

Acquired loans held for sale represent certain multi-family loans that First Financial determined were not in alignment with the Company's long-term portfolio strategy, risk profile or concentration objectives. Management received multiple indications of interest on these loans, ultimately consummating the sale in March of 2026. The sales price of the loans sold approximated fair value at acquisition. Since these loans were sold prior to the end of the first quarter of 2026, they had no impact on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The gross contractual amounts receivable relating to PCD assets was $4.0 million at the acquisition date, while the fair value of these assets was $3.0 million. The Company estimates, on the date of acquisition, that $0.8 million of the contractual cash flows specific to the PCD assets will not be collected.

First Financial incurred $5.7 million and $21.5 million of expenses related to the BankFinancial acquisition for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2026, respectively.

The following table provides the purchase price calculation as of the acquisition date, identifiable assets purchased and liabilities assumed at their estimated fair value.
(Dollars in thousands)BankFinancial
Purchase consideration
Cash consideration$6 
Stock consideration149,648 
Total purchase consideration149,654 
Assets acquired
Cash12,724 
Short term investments493,646 
Investment securities available-for-sale138,332 
Other investments7,500 
Loans, net of ACL264,098 
Loans held for sale412,968 
Premises and equipment22,123 
Core deposit intangible32,992 
Other intangible assets295 
Other assets28,954 
Total assets acquired1,413,632 
Liabilities assumed
Deposits1,209,437 
Subordinated notes17,936 
FHLB advances10,048 
Other liabilities14,439 
Total liabilities assumed1,251,860 
Net identifiable assets161,772 
Gain on bargain purchase$(12,118)
Westfield Bancorp, Inc.

On November 1, 2025, First Financial Bancorp acquired Westfield Bancorp, Inc., an Ohio corporation. Upon completion of the transaction, Westfield Bank, FSB, a federal savings bank, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Westfield Bancorp, merged into First Financial Bank. This acquisition supplements First Financial’s existing commercial banking and wealth management presence in Northeast Ohio by adding all of Westfield’s retail banking locations and its commercial lending, insurance agency lending and private banking services. Operating results from the Westfield acquisition have been included in the Consolidated Statements of Income since the acquisition date.

Pursuant to the terms of the transaction, First Financial acquired all of the issued and outstanding equity securities of Westfield Bancorp in exchange for a cash payment of $260.0 million and 2,753,094 shares of First Financial common stock, equal to $64.4 million based on First Financial's stock price on the date of the transaction, for a total purchase price of $324.4 million.

The Westfield transaction was accounted for using the acquisition method of accounting and accordingly, assets acquired, liabilities assumed and consideration exchanged were recorded at estimated fair value on the acquisition date in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 805, Business Combinations. The fair value measurements of assets acquired and liabilities assumed were $2.1 billion and $1.9 billion, respectively. Acquisition accounting adjustments are considered preliminary at September 30, 2026. These fair value measurements are subject to refinement for up to one year after the closing date of the acquisition as additional information relative to closing date fair values become available, and the measurement period ends in November 2026.

Goodwill arising from the Westfield acquisition was $92.3 million and reflects the additional revenue growth expected with the Company's expansion into the insurance premium financing business. The goodwill arising from the Westfield acquisition is nondeductible for income tax purposes.  For further detail, see Note 8 – Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets.

The gross contractual amounts receivable relating to PCD assets was $32.0 million at the acquisition date, while the fair value of these assets was $27.4 million. The Company estimates, on the date of acquisition, that $3.0 million of the contractual cash flows specific to the PCD assets will not be collected.

First Financial incurred $1.2 million of expenses related to the Westfield acquisition for the three months ended September 30, 2026, and $12.2 million of expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2026. First Financial incurred $5.8 million of expenses related to the Westfield acquisition in 2025.
The following table provides the purchase price calculation as of the acquisition date, identifiable assets purchased and liabilities assumed at their estimated fair value.
(Dollars in thousands)Westfield
Purchase consideration
Cash consideration$260,000 
Stock consideration64,450 
Total purchase consideration324,450 
Assets acquired
Cash72,711 
Investment securities available-for-sale301,007 
Other investments25,491 
Loans, net of ACL1,571,298 
Premises and equipment6,026 
Core deposit intangible47,065 
Other intangible assets1,105 
Other assets103,524 
Total assets acquired2,128,227 
Liabilities assumed
Deposits1,790,442 
FHLB advances80,000 
Long-term borrowings1,920 
Other liabilities23,695 
Total liabilities assumed1,896,057 
Net identifiable assets232,170 
Goodwill$92,280