First
Financial Bank, N.A. Acquires Peoples Community Bank
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Expands First Financial Bank’s
presence in Greater Cincinnati to over 50 banking
centers
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Provides safety and stability
for Peoples clients and
depositors
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Cincinnati,
Ohio – July 31, 2009 -- First Financial Bancorp. (Nasdaq: FFBC) announced
tonight that First Financial Bank, N.A., has purchased the banking operations of
Peoples Community Bank, the subsidiary bank of Peoples Community Bancorp
(Nasdaq: PCBI) through an agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC). The Office of Thrift Supervision declared Peoples Community
Bank closed today and appointed the FDIC as receiver. The purchase by First
Financial is effective immediately and includes approximately $538 million in
total deposits.
“We are
pleased to welcome the clients of Peoples Community Bank to First Financial and
want to assure them that their deposits are safe, secure and readily accessible.
It will be business as usual on Monday at all 19 of the former Peoples banking
centers as they become a part of First Financial Bank,” said Claude Davis,
president and chief executive officer of First Financial Bancorp. “Clients will
recognize familiar banking center associates from Peoples who will continue to
take care of their banking needs. We believe it’s a real positive for Peoples
clients and look forward to building strong relationships with
them.”
All
deposits are being assumed by First Financial Bank resulting in no losses to any
depositor. Over the weekend, Peoples Community Bank clients will be able to
access their money by writing checks, accessing online banking, or using their
ATM or debit card. Offices will be open on Saturday to answer client questions
but the teller windows will be closed. Other First Financial banking centers
will be open to assist Peoples clients as well.
“The
purchase of these banking centers is a strategic fit and expands First
Financial’s presence in Greater Cincinnati to over 50 locations. We’re excited
to extend First Financial’s products, services and brand of banking to a larger
client base,” Davis noted. “First Financial has been recognized for our
stability and our focus on asset quality, liquidity and strong capitalization.
Our strong financial position has enabled us to complete this strategic
purchase.”
Clients
of Peoples Community Bank with questions about the transaction may call the FDIC
directly at 866-954-9536 or First Financial Bank at 888-907-3477. For more
information about First Financial, visit www.bankatfirst.com/investor.
As a
result of the receivership, First Financial terminated its previously announced
purchase and assumption agreement with Peoples.
First
Financial Bancorp plans to file a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange
Commission that will provide more information regarding the transaction with the
FDIC.
Forward-Looking
Statements
This news
release should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial
statements, notes and tables in First Financial Bancorp’s most recent Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008. Management’s analysis
contains forward-looking statements that are provided to assist in the
understanding of anticipated future financial performance. However, such
performance involves risk and uncertainties that may cause actual results to
differ materially. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those
discussed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to,
management’s ability to effectively execute its business plan; the risk that the
strength of the United States economy in general and the strength of the local
economies in which First Financial conducts operations continue to deteriorate,
resulting in, among other things, a deterioration in credit quality or a reduced
demand for credit, including the resultant effect on First Financial’s loan
portfolio, allowance for loan and lease losses and overall financial purpose;
the ability of financial institutions to access sources of liquidity at a
reasonable cost; the impact of recent upheaval in the financial markets and the
effectiveness of domestic and international governmental actions taken in
response, such as the U.S. Treasury’s TARP and the FDIC’s Temporary Liquidity
Guarantee Program, and the effect of such governmental actions on First
Financial, its competitors and counterparties, financial markets generally and
availability of credit specifically, and the U.S. and international economies,
including potentially higher FDIC premiums arising from participation in the
Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program or from increased payments from FDIC
insurance funds as a result of depository institution failures; the effects of
and changes in policies and laws of regulatory agencies, inflation, and interest
rates; technology changes; mergers and acquisitions, including our ability to
successfully integrate Peoples Community Bank; the effect of changes in
accounting policies and practices; adverse changes in the securities and debt
markets; First Financial’s success in recruiting and retaining the necessary
personnel to support business growth and expansion and maintain sufficient
expertise to support increasingly complex products and services; the cost and
effects of litigation and of unexpected or adverse outcomes in such litigation;
uncertainties arising from First Financial’s participation in TARP, including
impacts on employee recruitment and retention and other business practices, and
uncertainties concerning the potential redemption of the U.S. Treasury’s
preferred stock investment under the program, including the timing of,
regulatory approvals for, and conditions placed upon, any such redemption; and
First Financial’s success at managing the risks involved in the foregoing. For
further discussion of certain factors that may cause such forward-looking
statements to differ materially from actual results, refer to the 2008 Form 10-K
and other public documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC), as well as the most recent Form 10-Q filing for the quarter ended March
31, 2009. These documents are available at no cost within the investor relations
section of First Financial’s website at www.bankatfirst.com/investor
and on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
About
First Financial Bancorp
First
Financial Bancorp is a Cincinnati, Ohio based bank holding company with $3.8
billion in assets. Its banking subsidiary, First Financial Bank, N.A., founded
in 1863, provides retail and commercial banking products and services, and
investment and insurance products through its 82 retail banking locations in
Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. The bank’s wealth management division, First
Financial Wealth Resource Group, provides investment management, traditional
trust, brokerage, private banking, and insurance services, and has approximately
$1.6 billion in assets under management. Additional information about the
company, including its products, services, and banking locations, is available
at www.bankatfirst.com/investor.
Additional
Information - First Financial Bancorp
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Investors/Analysts
Patti
Forsythe
Vice
President, Investor Relations
513-979-5837
patti.forsythe@bankatfirst.com
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Media
Cheryl
Lipp
First
Vice President, Marketing Director
513-979-5797
cheryl.lipp@bankatfirst.com
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