• First Financial Bancorp posted second-quarter net income of $76.46 million, up 2.7% from the first quarter; diluted EPS rose to $0.73 from $0.71.
• Net interest income edged up 0.4% versus the first quarter to $190.38 million; net interest margin (FTE) slipped 0.01 percentage point to 3.98%.
• Noninterest income fell 9.9% from the first quarter to $73.79 million, as gain on bargain purchase dropped to $3.19 million from $8.89 million.
• Noninterest expense declined 4.6% from the first quarter to $161.54 million, led by lower salaries and benefits tied to weaker fee income.
• First Financial agreed in July to buy Finward Bancorp in an all-stock deal valued at about $207.5 million, targeting a fourth-quarter close or early 2027.

Disclaimer: This news brief was created by Public Technologies (PUBT) using generative artificial intelligence. While PUBT strives to provide accurate and timely information, this AI-generated content is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial, investment, or legal advice. First Financial Bancorp published the original content used to generate this news brief via EDGAR, the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system operated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Ref. ID: 0000708955-26-000144), on August 06, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained therein.