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CAPITAL
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Banking Regulation, Total Capital [Abstract]  
CAPITAL Capital
Risk-based capital. First Financial and its subsidiary, First Financial Bank, are subject to regulatory capital requirements administered by federal banking agencies. Capital adequacy guidelines and, additionally for banks, prompt corrective action regulations involve quantitative measures of assets, liabilities and certain off-balance sheet items calculated under regulatory accounting practices. Capital amounts and classifications are also subject to qualitative judgments by regulators. Failure to meet minimum capital requirements can initiate regulatory action.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System approved Basel III in order to strengthen the regulatory capital framework for all banking organizations, subject to a phase-in period for certain provisions.  Basel III established and defined quantitative measures to ensure capital adequacy. These measures require First Financial to maintain minimum amounts and ratios of Common equity Tier 1 capital, Total and Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets and Tier 1 capital to average assets (Leverage ratio).  

Basel III includes a minimum ratio of Common equity Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets of 7.00% and a fully phased-in capital conservation buffer of 2.5% of risk-weighted assets.  Further, the minimum ratio of Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets increased to 8.5% and all banks are subject to a 4.0% minimum leverage ratio.  The required Total risk-based capital ratio is 10.50%. Failure to maintain the required Common equity Tier 1 capital conservation buffer will result in potential restrictions on a bank’s ability to pay dividends, repurchase stock and pay discretionary compensation to its employees. The capital requirements also provide strict eligibility criteria for regulatory capital instruments and change the method for calculating risk-weighted assets in an effort to better identify riskier assets, such as highly volatile commercial real estate and nonaccrual loans.

As of December 31, 2020, management believes that First Financial met all capital adequacy requirements to which it was subject. To be categorized as well-capitalized, First Financial must maintain minimum Total risk-based capital, Tier 1 risk-based capital and Tier 1 leverage ratios as set forth in the table that follows. The Company's most recent regulatory notifications categorized First Financial as "well-capitalized" under the regulatory framework for prompt corrective action. There have been no conditions or events since those notifications that management believes have changed the Company's categorization. Total regulatory capital exceeded the minimum requirement by $566.8 million on a consolidated basis at December 31, 2020.  
The following tables present the actual and required capital amounts and ratios as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 under the Basel III Capital Rules. The minimum required capital amounts presented include the minimum required capital levels based on the phase-in provisions of the Basel III Capital Rules as of the year presented. Capital levels required to be considered "well capitalized" are based upon prompt corrective action regulations, as amended to reflect the changes under the Basel III Capital Rules.
ActualMinimum capital
required - Basel III		PCA requirement to be
considered well
capitalized
(Dollars in thousands)Capital
amount		RatioCapital
amount		RatioCapital
amount		Ratio
December 31, 2020
Common equity tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets
Consolidated$1,325,922 11.82 %$785,338 7.00 %N/AN/A
First Financial Bank1,452,403 12.95 %784,807 7.00 %$728,749 6.50 %
Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets
Consolidated1,368,818 12.20 %953,625 8.50 %N/AN/A
First Financial Bank1,452,507 12.96 %952,980 8.50 %896,922 8.00 %
Total capital to risk-weighted assets
Consolidated1,744,802 15.55 %1,178,007 10.50 %N/AN/A
First Financial Bank1,560,457 13.92 %1,177,211 10.50 %1,121,153 10.00 %
Leverage
Consolidated1,368,818 9.55 %573,526 4.00 %N/AN/A
First Financial Bank1,452,507 10.14 %573,094 4.00 %716,367 5.00 %
 
ActualMinimum capital
required - Basel III		PCA requirement to be
considered well
capitalized
(Dollars in thousands)Capital
amount		RatioCapital
amount		RatioCapital
amount		Ratio
December 31, 2019
Common equity tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets
Consolidated$1,245,746 11.30 %$771,666 7.00 %N/AN/A
First Financial Bank1,333,978 12.11 %770,997 7.00 %$715,926 6.50 %
Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets
Consolidated1,288,185 11.69 %937,023 8.50 %N/AN/A
First Financial Bank1,334,082 12.11 %936,211 8.50 %881,140 8.00 %
Total capital to risk-weighted assets
Consolidated1,475,813 13.39 %1,157,498 10.50 %N/AN/A
First Financial Bank1,399,817 12.71 %1,156,496 10.50 %1,101,425 10.00 %
Leverage
Consolidated1,288,185 9.58 %537,606 4.00 %N/AN/A
First Financial Bank1,334,082 9.93 %537,299 4.00 %671,623 5.00 %

Share repurchases. In December 2020, First Financial's board of directors approved a stock repurchase plan, replacing the plan approved in 2019 which expired on December 31, 2020. The plan approved in 2020 will continue for two years and like the 2019 plan, authorizes the purchase of up to 5,000,000 shares of the Company's common stock. Under the 2019 plan, First Financial repurchased 880,000 shares at an average market price of $18.96 during 2020 and repurchased 2,753,272 shares at an
average market price of $24.05 during 2019. Prior to the 2019 plan's expiration on December 31, 2020, it had 1,366,728 common shares available for repurchase. There were no share repurchases in 2018.

ATM Offering. In March 2017, First Financial initiated an "at-the-market" equity offering program to provide flexibility with respect to capital planning and to support future growth. First Financial was not active through the ATM program during the periods presented.