ffbc-20220721

Exhibit 99.1

First Financial Bancorp Announces Second Quarter 2022 Financial Results

•Earnings per diluted share of $0.55; $0.56 on an adjusted(1) basis

•Return on average assets of 1.28%; 1.31% on an adjusted(1) basis

•Net interest margin on FTE basis(1) of 3.47%; 30 bp increase from linked quarter

•Loan growth of $191.4 million, excluding PPP; 8.3% on an annualized basis

•Noninterest income of $49.8 million increased 20.6% from the linked quarter

Cincinnati, Ohio - July 21, 2022. First Financial Bancorp. (Nasdaq: FFBC) (“First Financial” or the “Company”) announced financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022.

For the three months ended June 30, 2022, the Company reported net income of $51.5 million, or $0.55 per diluted common share. These results compare to net income of $41.3 million, or $0.44 per diluted common share, for the first quarter of 2022. For the six months ended June 30, 2022, First Financial had earnings per diluted share of $0.98 compared to $1.01 for the same period in 2021.

Return on average assets for the second quarter of 2022 was 1.28% while return on average tangible common equity was 20.68%(1). These compare to returns on average assets of 1.03% and return on average tangible common equity of 14.93%(1) in the first quarter of 2022.

Second quarter 2022 highlights include:

•Strong loan growth when compared to linked quarter(2)

◦Loan balances increased $178.8 million compared to the first quarter; $191.4 million excluding PPP

◦Growth of 7.8% on an annualized basis; 8.3% on an annualized basis excluding PPP

◦Broad based portfolio growth, with large increases in C&I and residential real estate portfolios

•Net interest margin of 3.43%, or 3.47% on a fully tax-equivalent basis(1), exceeded expectations

◦30 bp increase to 3.47% from 3.17% in the first quarter due to higher asset yields resulting from higher interest rates

◦34 bp increase in loan yields offset modest 2 basis point increase in cost of interest bearing deposits

•Noninterest income of $49.8 million, or $50.8 million as adjusted(1)

◦Record foreign exchange income of $13.5 million; 32.7% increase from the linked quarter

◦Leasing business income of $7.2 million; 19.3% increase from the linked quarter

◦Wealth management fees remained strong at $6.3 million

◦Mortgage banking revenue increased $1.4 million; 35.4% increase from the linked quarter

◦Other noninterest income increased $2.3 million; 65.9% increase from the linked quarter driven by investments in limited partnerships

◦Adjusted(1) for $1.1 million loss on investment securities

________________________________________________________________________________________

(1) Non-GAAP measure. For details on the calculation of these non-GAAP financial measures and a reconciliation to the GAAP financial measure, see the sections titled “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” in this release and “Appendix: Non-GAAP to GAAP Reconciliation” in the accompanying slide presentation.

(2) The consolidated balance sheets at June 30, 2022, March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 include assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the Summit Financial transaction. The fair value measurements of assets acquired and liabilities assumed 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 becomes available.

•Noninterest expenses of $103.2 million, or $102.4 million as adjusted(1)

◦Adjustments(1) include $0.1 million of acquisition related costs and $0.7 million of other costs not expected to recur such as severance and branch consolidation costs

◦Slight increase in expenses driven by higher salaries and benefits tied to elevated fee income

◦Efficiency ratio of 61.8%; 60.9% as adjusted(1)

•Total Allowance for Credit Losses of $134.5 million; Total quarterly provision recapture of $0.8 million

◦Loans and leases - ACL of $117.9 million, 1.25% of total loans

◦Unfunded Commitments - ACL of $16.7 million

◦Provision recapture driven by stable credit quality

◦Net charge-offs declined to 8 bps of average loans and leases

•Regulatory capital ratios remain in excess of internal targets

◦Total capital ratio of 13.94%

◦Tier 1 common equity increased 4 basis points to 10.91%

◦Tangible common equity of 6.40%(1); decrease from linked quarter driven by decline in AOCI

◦Tangible book value per share of $10.27(1)

Archie Brown, President and CEO, commented on the quarter, “I am extremely pleased with our performance in the second quarter. Earnings improved from the first quarter as our asset sensitive balance sheet was positively impacted by recent rate increases. In addition, credit quality was stable with lower net charge-offs and nonaccrual loan balances. This led to a small provision recapture for the quarter.”

Mr. Brown continued, “We were encouraged by our strong fee income performance for the quarter. Total fee income surpassed our expectations due to record foreign exchange income, strong income from limited partnership investments and growing leasing business income. While second quarter mortgage banking income increased 35% from the linked quarter, we continue to experience headwinds due to the rapid rise in interest rates. In addition, recent overdraft program changes led to a modest reduction in deposit account service charges during the second quarter and we expect further decline due to these program changes in the coming periods.”

Mr. Brown commented on loan growth, “We were very pleased with loan growth in the second quarter. Loans (excluding PPP) increased by $191 million, or 8.3%, on an annualized basis. Loan growth was broad based, with increases in the C&I, retail mortgage and consumer portfolios. This more than offset a decline in the ICRE portfolio, which was driven by elevated prepayments. In addition, we were also pleased with Summit's growth in the quarter, including operating leases, which increased $21 million, or 33.5%, during the period. Loan origination activity remains strong as we head into the third quarter.”

Mr. Brown concluded, “I want to thank our associates for their excellent performance so far this year. As we head into the back half of the year, we are optimistic that our balance sheet is positioned to further benefit from additional rate increases and loan activity remains strong. We remain diligent in our credit monitoring and are prepared to manage a downturn in the economy should it occur later in the interest rate cycle.”

Full detail of the Company’s second quarter 2022 performance is provided in the accompanying financial statements and slide presentation.

Teleconference / Webcast Information

First Financial’s executive management will host a conference call to discuss the Company’s financial and operating results on Friday, July 22, 2022 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Members of the public who would like to listen to the conference call should dial (844) 200-6205 (U.S. toll free), (646) 904-5544 (U.S. local) or +1 (929) 526-1599 (International), access code 099625. The number should be dialed five to ten minutes prior to the start of the conference call. A replay of the conference call will be available beginning one hour after the completion of the live call at (866) 813-9403 (U.S. toll free), (929) 458-6194 (U.S. local) and +44 204 525-0658 (all other locations), access code 049791. The recording will be available until August 5, 2022. The conference call will also be accessible as an audio webcast via the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.bankatfirst.com. The webcast will be archived on the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website for 12 months.

Press Release and Additional Information on Website

This press release as well as supplemental information are available to the public through the Investor Relations section of First Financial's website at www.bankatfirst.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This earnings release contains GAAP financial measures and Non-GAAP financial measures where management believes it to be helpful in understanding the Company’s results of operations or financial position. Where Non-GAAP financial measures are used, the comparable GAAP financial measures, as well as a reconciliation to the comparable GAAP financial measure, can be found in the section titled “Appendix: Non-GAAP to GAAP Reconciliation” in the accompanying slide presentation.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this report which are not statements of historical fact constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as ‘‘believes,’’ ‘‘anticipates,’’ “likely,” “expected,” “estimated,” ‘‘intends’’ and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements we make about (i) our future operating or financial performance, including revenues, income or loss and earnings or loss per share, (ii) future common stock dividends, (iii) our capital structure, including future capital levels, (iv) our plans, objectives and strategies, and (v) the assumptions that underlie our forward-looking statements.

As with any forecast or projection, forward-looking statements are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but instead express only management’s beliefs regarding future results or events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of management’s control. It is possible that actual results and outcomes may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results or outcomes indicated in these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in our forward-looking statements include the following, without limitation:

•economic, market, liquidity, credit, interest rate, operational and technological risks associated with the Company’s business;

•future credit quality and performance, including our expectations regarding future loan losses and our allowance for credit losses

•the effect of and changes in policies and laws or regulatory agencies, including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and other legislation and regulation relating to the banking industry;

•Management’s ability to effectively execute its business plans;

•mergers and acquisitions, including costs or difficulties related to the integration of acquired companies;

•the possibility that any of the anticipated benefits of the Company’s acquisitions will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected time period;

•the effect of changes in accounting policies and practices;

•changes in consumer spending, borrowing and saving and changes in unemployment;

•changes in customers’ performance and creditworthiness;

•the costs and effects of litigation and of unexpected or adverse outcomes in such litigation;

•current and future economic and market conditions, including the effects of changes in housing prices, fluctuations in unemployment rates, U.S. fiscal debt, budget and tax matters, geopolitical matters, and any slowdown in global economic growth;

•the adverse impact on the U.S. economy, including the markets in which we operate, of the novel coronavirus, which causes the Coronavirus disease 2019 (“COVID-19”), global pandemic, and the impact on the performance of our loan and lease portfolio, the market value of our investment securities, the availability of sources of funding and the demand for our products;

•our capital and liquidity requirements (including under regulatory capital standards, such as the Basel III capital standards) and our ability to generate capital internally or raise capital on favorable terms;

•financial services reform and other current, pending or future legislation or regulation that could have a negative effect on our revenue and businesses, including the Dodd-Frank Act and other legislation and regulation relating to bank products and services;

•the effect of the current interest rate environment or changes in interest rates or in the level or composition of our assets or liabilities on our net interest income, net interest margin and our mortgage originations, mortgage servicing rights and mortgage loans held for sale;

•the effect of a fall in stock market prices on our brokerage, asset and wealth management businesses;

•a failure in or breach of our operational or security systems or infrastructure, or those of our third-party vendors or other service providers, including as a result of cyber attacks;

•the effect of changes in the level of checking or savings account deposits on our funding costs and net interest margin; and

•our ability to develop and execute effective business plans and strategies.

Additional factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those described in our forward-looking statements can be found in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, as well as our other filings with the SEC, which are available on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.

All forward-looking statements included in this filing are made as of the date hereof and are based on information available at the time of the filing. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp. is a Cincinnati, Ohio based bank holding company. As of June 30, 2022, the Company had $16.2 billion in assets, $9.4 billion in loans, $12.3 billion in deposits and $2.1 billion in shareholders’ equity. The Company’s subsidiary, First Financial Bank, founded in 1863, provides banking and financial services products through its six lines of business: Commercial, Retail Banking, Investment Commercial Real Estate, Mortgage Banking, Commercial Finance and Wealth Management. These business units provide traditional banking services to business and retail clients. Wealth Management provides wealth planning, portfolio management, trust and estate, brokerage and retirement plan services and had approximately $3.0 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2022. The Company operated 135 full service banking centers as of June 30, 2022, primarily in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois, while the Commercial Finance business lends into targeted industry verticals on a nationwide basis. Additional information about the Company, including its products, services and banking locations, is available at www.bankatfirst.com.

Contact Information

Investors/Analysts Media

Jamie Anderson Tim Condron

Chief Financial Officer Marketing Communications Manager

(513) 887-5400 (513) 979-5796

InvestorRelations@bankatfirst.com media@bankatfirst.com

Selected Financial Information

June 30, 2022

(unaudited)


Contents			Page
Consolidated Financial Highlights			2
Consolidated Quarterly Statements of Income			3
Consolidated Quarterly Statements of Income			4-5
Consolidated Statements of Condition			6
Average Consolidated Statements of Condition			7
Net Interest Margin Rate / Volume Analysis			44,782
Credit Quality			10
Capital Adequacy			11


FIRST FINANCIAL BANCORP.
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)

	Three Months Ended,															Six months ended,
	June 30,			Mar. 31,			Dec. 31,			Sep. 30,			June 30,			June 30,
	2022			2022			2021			2021			2021			2022			2021
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Net income	$	51,520		$	41,301		$	46,945		$	60,012		$	50,888		$	92,821		$	98,203
Net earnings per share - basic	$	0.55		$	0.44		$	0.51		$	0.64		$	0.53		$	0.99		$	1.02
Net earnings per share - diluted	$	0.55		$	0.44		$	0.50		$	0.63		$	0.52		$	0.98		$	1.01
Dividends declared per share	$	0.23		$	0.23		$	0.23		$	0.23		$	0.23		$	0.46		$	0.46

KEY FINANCIAL RATIOS
Return on average assets	1.28		%	1.03		%	1.16		%	1.49		%	1.26		%	1.16		%	1.23		%
Return on average shareholders' equity	9.84		%	7.53		%	8.31		%	10.53		%	9.02		%	8.66		%	8.73		%
Return on average tangible shareholders' equity (1)	20.68		%	14.93		%	15.11		%	19.03		%	16.31		%	17.65		%	15.78		%

Net interest margin	3.43		%	3.12		%	3.19		%	3.28		%	3.27		%	3.27		%	3.31		%
Net interest margin (fully tax equivalent) (1)(2)	3.47		%	3.17		%	3.23		%	3.32		%	3.31		%	3.32		%	3.35		%

Ending shareholders' equity as a percent of ending assets	12.74		%	13.35		%	13.83		%	14.01		%	14.15		%	12.74		%	14.15		%
Ending tangible shareholders' equity as a percent of:
Ending tangible assets (1)	6.40		%	6.95		%	7.58		%	8.21		%	8.37		%	6.40		%	8.37		%
Risk-weighted assets (1)	8.09		%	8.85		%	9.91		%	10.76		%	11.12		%	8.09		%	11.12		%

Average shareholders' equity as a percent of average assets	12.97		%	13.75		%	13.98		%	14.14		%	13.96		%	13.36		%	14.06		%
Average tangible shareholders' equity as a percent of
average tangible assets (1)	6.62		%	7.44		%	8.20		%	8.35		%	8.23		%	7.03		%	8.30		%

Book value per share	$	21.90		$	22.63		$	23.99		$	23.85		$	23.59		$	21.90		$	23.59
Tangible book value per share (1)	$	10.27		$	10.97		$	12.26		$	13.09		$	13.08		$	10.27		$	13.08

Common equity tier 1 ratio (3)	10.91		%	10.87		%	10.84		%	11.54		%	11.78		%	10.91		%	11.78		%
Tier 1 ratio (3)	11.28		%	11.24		%	11.22		%	11.92		%	12.16		%	11.28		%	12.16		%
Total capital ratio (3)	13.94		%	13.97		%	14.10		%	14.97		%	15.31		%	13.94		%	15.31		%
Leverage ratio (3)	8.76		%	8.64		%	8.70		%	9.05		%	9.14		%	8.76		%	9.14		%

AVERAGE BALANCE SHEET ITEMS
Loans (4)	$	9,367,820		$	9,266,774		$	9,283,227		$	9,502,750		$	9,831,965		$	9,317,576		$	9,891,579

Investment securities	4,118,287			4,308,059			4,343,513			4,189,253			4,130,207			4,212,649			3,957,559
Interest-bearing deposits with other banks	236,797			234,687			166,904			32,400			45,593			235,748			46,249
Total earning assets	$	13,722,904		$	13,809,520		$	13,793,644		$	13,724,403		$	14,007,765		$	13,765,973		$	13,895,387
Total assets	$	16,185,978		$	16,184,919		$	16,036,417		$	15,995,808		$	16,215,469		$	16,185,451		$	16,129,539
Noninterest-bearing deposits	$	4,224,842		$	4,160,175		$	4,191,457		$	3,981,404		$	4,003,626		$	4,192,687		$	3,922,288
Interest-bearing deposits	8,312,876			8,623,800			8,693,792			8,685,949			8,707,553			8,467,479			8,620,173
Total deposits	$	12,537,718		$	12,783,975		$	12,885,249		$	12,667,353		$	12,711,179		$	12,660,166		$	12,542,461
Borrowings	$	970,243		$	701,287		$	396,743		$	562,964		$	749,114		$	836,508		$	817,367
Shareholders' equity	$	2,099,670		$	2,225,495		$	2,241,820		$	2,261,293		$	2,263,687		$	2,162,235		$	2,268,193

CREDIT QUALITY RATIOS
Allowance to ending loans	1.25		%	1.34		%	1.42		%	1.59		%	1.68		%	1.25		%	1.68		%
Allowance to nonaccrual loans	302.87		%	273.09		%	272.76		%	225.73		%	184.77		%	302.87		%	184.77		%
Allowance to nonperforming loans	235.08		%	231.98		%	219.96		%	192.35		%	162.12		%	235.08		%	162.12		%
Nonperforming loans to total loans	0.53		%	0.58		%	0.65		%	0.83		%	1.03		%	0.53		%	1.03		%
Nonaccrual loans to total loans	0.41		%	0.49		%	0.52		%	0.70		%	0.91		%	0.41		%	0.91		%
Nonperforming assets to ending loans, plus OREO	0.53		%	0.58		%	0.65		%	0.83		%	1.04		%	0.53		%	1.04		%
Nonperforming assets to total assets	0.31		%	0.33		%	0.37		%	0.49		%	0.62		%	0.31		%	0.62		%
Classified assets to total assets	0.74		%	0.67		%	0.64		%	1.04		%	1.14		%	0.74		%	1.14		%
Net charge-offs to average loans (annualized)	0.08		%	0.10		%	0.32		%	0.10		%	0.23		%	0.09		%	0.30		%

(2) The tax equivalent adjustment to net interest income recognizes the income tax savings when comparing taxable and tax-exempt assets and assumes a 21% tax rate. Management believes that it is a standard practice in the banking industry to present net interest margin and net interest income on a fully tax equivalent basis. Therefore, management believes these measures provide useful information to investors by allowing them to make peer comparisons. Management also uses these measures to make peer comparisons.

(3) June 30, 2022 regulatory capital ratios are preliminary.

(4) Includes loans held for sale.


FIRST FINANCIAL BANCORP.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)

	Three months ended,								Six months ended,
	June 30,								June 30,
	2022			2021			% Change		2022			2021			% Change
Interest income
Loans and leases, including fees	$	97,091		$	97,494		(0.4)	%	$	184,273		$	196,425		(6.2)	%
Investment securities
Taxable	23,639			19,524			21.1	%	45,735			38,131			19.9	%
Tax-exempt	4,916			4,871			0.9	%	9,347			9,914			(5.7)	%
Total investment securities interest	28,555			24,395			17.1	%	55,082			48,045			14.6	%
Other earning assets	497			25			N/M		618			53			N/M
Total interest income	126,143			121,914			3.5	%	239,973			244,523			(1.9)	%

Interest expense
Deposits	2,963			3,693			(19.8)	%	5,586			8,026			(30.4)	%
Short-term borrowings	1,373			53			N/M		1,690			120			N/M
Long-term borrowings	4,612			4,142			11.3	%	9,156			8,475			8.0	%
Total interest expense	8,948			7,888			13.4	%	16,432			16,621			(1.1)	%
Net interest income	117,195			114,026			2.8	%	223,541			227,902			(1.9)	%
Provision for credit losses-loans and leases	(4,267)			(4,756)			(10.3)	%	(9,856)			(1,306)			N/M
Provision for credit losses-unfunded commitments	3,481			517			N/M		3,255			1,055			208.5	%
Net interest income after provision for credit losses	117,981			118,265			(0.2)	%	230,142			228,153			0.9	%

Noninterest income
Service charges on deposit accounts	7,648			7,537			1.5	%	15,377			14,683			4.7	%
Trust and wealth management fees	6,311			6,216			1.5	%	12,371			11,846			4.4	%
Bankcard income	3,823			3,732			2.4	%	7,160			6,860			4.4	%
Client derivative fees	1,353			1,795			(24.6)	%	2,152			3,351			(35.8)	%
Foreign exchange income	13,470			12,037			11.9	%	23,621			22,794			3.6	%
Leasing business income	7,247			0			100.0	%	13,323			0			100.0	%
Net gains from sales of loans	5,241			8,489			(38.3)	%	9,113			17,943			(49.2)	%
Net gain (loss) on sale of investment securities	0			(265)			(100.0)	%	3			(431)			(100.7)	%
Net gain (loss) on equity securities	(1,054)			161			N/M		(1,253)			273			N/M


Other	5,747			3,285			74.9	%	9,212			5,990			53.8	%
Total noninterest income	49,786			42,987			15.8	%	91,079			83,309			9.3	%

Noninterest expenses
Salaries and employee benefits	64,992			60,784			6.9	%	128,939			122,037			5.7	%

Net occupancy	5,359			5,535			(3.2)	%	11,105			11,239			(1.2)	%
Furniture and equipment	3,201			3,371			(5.0)	%	6,768			7,340			(7.8)	%
Data processing	8,334			7,864			6.0	%	16,598			15,151			9.6	%
Marketing	2,323			2,035			14.2	%	4,023			3,396			18.5	%
Communication	670			746			(10.2)	%	1,336			1,584			(15.7)	%
Professional services	2,214			2,029			9.1	%	4,373			3,479			25.7	%

State intangible tax	1,090			1,201			(9.2)	%	2,221			2,403			(7.6)	%
FDIC assessments	1,677			1,362			23.1	%	3,136			2,711			15.7	%
Intangible amortization	2,915			2,480			17.5	%	5,829			4,959			17.5	%
Leasing business expense	4,687			0			100.0	%	8,556			0			100.0	%
Other	5,765			12,236			(52.9)	%	13,148			17,850			(26.3)	%
Total noninterest expenses	103,227			99,643			3.6	%	206,032			192,149			7.2	%
Income before income taxes	64,540			61,609			4.8	%	115,189			119,313			(3.5)	%
Income tax expense	13,020			10,721			21.4	%	22,368			21,110			6.0	%
Net income	$	51,520		$	50,888		1.2	%	$	92,821		$	98,203		(5.5)	%

ADDITIONAL DATA
Net earnings per share - basic	$	0.55		$	0.53				$	0.99		$	1.02
Net earnings per share - diluted	$	0.55		$	0.52				$	0.98		$	1.01
Dividends declared per share	$	0.23		$	0.23				$	0.46		$	0.46

Return on average assets	1.28		%	1.26		%			1.16		%	1.23		%
Return on average shareholders' equity	9.84		%	9.02		%			8.66		%	8.73		%

Interest income	$	126,143		$	121,914		3.5	%	$	239,973		$	244,523		(1.9)	%
Tax equivalent adjustment	1,625			1,619			0.4	%	3,092			3,271			(5.5)	%
Interest income - tax equivalent	127,768			123,533			3.4	%	243,065			247,794			(1.9)	%
Interest expense	8,948			7,888			13.4	%	16,432			16,621			(1.1)	%
Net interest income - tax equivalent	$	118,820		$	115,645		2.7	%	$	226,633		$	231,173		(2.0)	%

Net interest margin	3.43		%	3.27		%			3.27		%	3.31		%
Net interest margin (fully tax equivalent) (1)	3.47		%	3.31		%			3.32		%	3.35		%

Full-time equivalent employees	2,096			2,053

(1) The tax equivalent adjustment to net interest income recognizes the income tax savings when comparing taxable and tax-exempt assets and assumes a 21% tax rate. Management believes that it is a standard practice in the banking industry to present net interest income on a fully tax equivalent basis. Therefore, management believes these measures provide useful information to investors by allowing them to make peer comparisons. Management also uses these measures to make peer comparisons.


FIRST FINANCIAL BANCORP.
CONSOLIDATED QUARTERLY STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)

	2022
		Second			First			Year to			% Change
		Quarter			Quarter			Date			Linked Qtr.
Interest income
Loans and leases, including fees		$	97,091		$	87,182		$	184,273		11.4	%
Investment securities
Taxable		23,639			22,096			45,735			7.0	%
Tax-exempt		4,916			4,431			9,347			10.9	%
Total investment securities interest		28,555			26,527			55,082			7.6	%
Other earning assets		497			121			618			310.7	%
Total interest income		126,143			113,830			239,973			10.8	%

Interest expense
Deposits		2,963			2,623			5,586			13.0	%
Short-term borrowings		1,373			317			1,690			333.1	%
Long-term borrowings		4,612			4,544			9,156			1.5	%
Total interest expense		8,948			7,484			16,432			19.6	%
Net interest income		117,195			106,346			223,541			10.2	%
Provision for credit losses-loans and leases		(4,267)			(5,589)			(9,856)			(23.7)	%
Provision for credit losses-unfunded commitments		3,481			(226)			3,255			N/M
Net interest income after provision for credit losses		117,981			112,161			230,142			5.2	%

Noninterest income
Service charges on deposit accounts		7,648			7,729			15,377			(1.0)	%
Trust and wealth management fees		6,311			6,060			12,371			4.1	%
Bankcard income		3,823			3,337			7,160			14.6	%
Client derivative fees		1,353			799			2,152			69.3	%
Foreign exchange income		13,470			10,151			23,621			32.7	%
Leasing business income		7,247			6,076			13,323			19.3	%
Net gains from sales of loans		5,241			3,872			9,113			35.4	%
Net gain (loss) on sale of investment securities		0			3			3			(100.0)	%
Net gain (loss) on equity securities		(1,054)			(199)			(1,253)			429.6	%
Other		5,747			3,465			9,212			65.9	%
Total noninterest income		49,786			41,293			91,079			20.6	%

Noninterest expenses
Salaries and employee benefits		64,992			63,947			128,939			1.6	%
Net occupancy		5,359			5,746			11,105			(6.7)	%
Furniture and equipment		3,201			3,567			6,768			(10.3)	%
Data processing		8,334			8,264			16,598			0.8	%
Marketing		2,323			1,700			4,023			36.6	%
Communication		670			666			1,336			0.6	%
Professional services		2,214			2,159			4,373			2.5	%
State intangible tax		1,090			1,131			2,221			(3.6)	%
FDIC assessments		1,677			1,459			3,136			14.9	%
Intangible amortization		2,915			2,914			5,829			0.0	%
Leasing business expense		4,687			3,869			8,556			21.1	%
Other		5,765			7,383			13,148			(21.9)	%
Total noninterest expenses		103,227			102,805			206,032			0.4	%
Income before income taxes		64,540			50,649			115,189			27.4	%
Income tax expense		13,020			9,348			22,368			39.3	%
Net income		$	51,520		$	41,301		$	92,821		24.7	%

ADDITIONAL DATA
Net earnings per share - basic		$	0.55		$	0.44		$	0.99
Net earnings per share - diluted		$	0.55		$	0.44		$	0.98
Dividends declared per share		$	0.23		$	0.23		$	0.46

Return on average assets		1.28		%	1.03		%	1.16		%
Return on average shareholders' equity		9.84		%	7.53		%	8.66		%

Interest income		$	126,143		$	113,830		$	239,973		10.8	%
Tax equivalent adjustment		1,625			1,467			3,092			10.8	%
Interest income - tax equivalent		127,768			115,297			243,065			10.8	%
Interest expense		8,948			7,484			16,432			19.6	%
Net interest income - tax equivalent		$	118,820		$	107,813		$	226,633		10.2	%

Net interest margin		3.43		%	3.12		%	3.27		%
Net interest margin (fully tax equivalent) (1)		3.47		%	3.17		%	3.32		%

Full-time equivalent employees		2,096			2,050 (2)

(1) The tax equivalent adjustment to net interest income recognizes the income tax savings when comparing taxable and tax-exempt assets and assumes a 21% tax rate. Management believes that it is a standard practice in the banking industry to present net interest income on a fully tax equivalent basis. Therefore, management believes these measures provide useful information to investors by allowing them to make peer comparisons. Management also uses these measures to make peer comparisons.
(2) Includes 65 FTE from Summit acquisition.


FIRST FINANCIAL BANCORP.
CONSOLIDATED QUARTERLY STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)

	2021
	Fourth			Third			Second			First			Full
	Quarter			Quarter			Quarter			Quarter			Year
Interest income
Loans and leases, including fees	$	92,682		$	96,428		$	97,494		$	98,931		$	385,535
Investment securities
Taxable	20,993			20,088			19,524			18,607			79,212
Tax-exempt	4,127			4,282			4,871			5,043			18,323
Total investment securities interest	25,120			24,370			24,395			23,650			97,535
Other earning assets	71			23			25			28			147
Total interest income	117,873			120,821			121,914			122,609			483,217

Interest expense
Deposits	3,089			3,320			3,693			4,333			14,435
Short-term borrowings	10			68			53			67			198
Long-term borrowings	3,968			4,023			4,142			4,333			16,466
Total interest expense	7,067			7,411			7,888			8,733			31,099
Net interest income	110,806			113,410			114,026			113,876			452,118
Provision for credit losses-loans and leases	(9,525)			(8,193)			(4,756)			3,450			(19,024)
Provision for credit losses-unfunded commitments	1,799			(1,951)			517			538			903
Net interest income after provision for credit losses	118,532			123,554			118,265			109,888			470,239

Noninterest income
Service charges on deposit accounts	8,645			8,548			7,537			7,146			31,876
Trust and wealth management fees	6,038			5,896			6,216			5,630			23,780
Bankcard income	3,602			3,838			3,732			3,128			14,300
Client derivative fees	2,303			2,273			1,795			1,556			7,927
Foreign exchange income	12,808			9,191			12,037			10,757			44,793
Leasing business income	0			0			0			0			0
Net gains from sales of loans	6,492			8,586			8,489			9,454			33,021
Net gain (loss) on sale of investment securities	(14)			(314)			(265)			(166)			(759)
Net gain (loss) on equity securities	321			108			161			112			702
Other	5,465			4,411			3,285			2,705			15,866
Total noninterest income	45,660			42,537			42,987			40,322			171,506

Noninterest expenses
Salaries and employee benefits	62,170			61,717			60,784			61,253			245,924
Net occupancy	5,332			5,571			5,535			5,704			22,142
Furniture and equipment	3,161			3,318			3,371			3,969			13,819
Data processing	8,261			7,951			7,864			7,287			31,363
Marketing	2,152			2,435			2,035			1,361			7,983
Communication	677			669			746			838			2,930
Professional services	5,998			2,199			2,029			1,450			11,676
State intangible tax	651			1,202			1,201			1,202			4,256
FDIC assessments	1,453			1,466			1,362			1,349			5,630
Intangible amortization	2,401			2,479			2,480			2,479			9,839
Leasing business expense	0			0			0			0			0
Other	17,349			10,051			12,236			5,614			45,250
Total noninterest expenses	109,605			99,058			99,643			92,506			400,812
Income before income taxes	54,587			67,033			61,609			57,704			240,933
Income tax expense (benefit)	7,642			7,021			10,721			10,389			35,773
Net income	$	46,945		$	60,012		$	50,888		$	47,315		$	205,160

ADDITIONAL DATA
Net earnings per share - basic	$	0.51		$	0.64		$	0.53		$	0.49		$	2.16
Net earnings per share - diluted	$	0.50		$	0.63		$	0.52		$	0.48		$	2.14
Dividends declared per share	$	0.23		$	0.23		$	0.23		$	0.23		$	0.92

Return on average assets	1.16		%	1.49		%	1.26		%	1.20		%	1.28		%
Return on average shareholders' equity	8.31		%	10.53		%	9.02		%	8.44		%	9.08		%

Interest income	$	117,873		$	120,821		$	121,914		$	122,609		$	483,217
Tax equivalent adjustment	1,386			1,434			1,619			1,652			6,091
Interest income - tax equivalent	119,259			122,255			123,533			124,261			489,308
Interest expense	7,067			7,411			7,888			8,733			31,099
Net interest income - tax equivalent	$	112,192		$	114,844		$	115,645		$	115,528		$	458,209

Net interest margin	3.19		%	3.28		%	3.27		%	3.35		%	3.27		%
Net interest margin (fully tax equivalent) (1)	3.23		%	3.32		%	3.31		%	3.40		%	3.31		%

Full-time equivalent employees	1,994			2,026			2,053			2,063

(1) The tax equivalent adjustment to net interest income recognizes the income tax savings when comparing taxable and tax-exempt assets and assumes a 21% tax rate. Management believes that it is a standard practice in the banking industry to present net interest income on a fully tax equivalent basis. Therefore, management believes these measures provide useful information to investors by allowing them to make peer comparisons. Management also uses these measures to make peer comparisons.


FIRST FINANCIAL BANCORP.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CONDITION
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)

	June 30,		Mar. 31,		Dec. 31,		Sep. 30,		June 30,		% Change		% Change
	2022		2022		2021		2021		2021		Linked Qtr.		Comp Qtr.
ASSETS
Cash and due from banks	$	302,549	$	230,428	$	220,031	$	209,748	$	206,918	31.3	%	46.2	%
Interest-bearing deposits with other banks	184,974		227,147		214,811		29,799		38,610		(18.6)	%	379.1	%
Investment securities available-for-sale	3,843,580		3,957,882		4,207,846		4,114,094		3,955,839		(2.9)	%	(2.8)	%
Investment securities held-to-maturity	88,057		92,597		98,420		103,886		112,456		(4.9)	%	(21.7)	%
Other investments	132,151		114,563		102,971		97,831		129,432		15.4	%	2.1	%
Loans held for sale	22,044		12,670		29,482		33,835		31,546		74.0	%	(30.1)	%
Loans and leases
Commercial and industrial	2,927,175		2,800,209		2,720,028		2,602,848		2,701,203		4.5	%	8.4	%
Lease financing	146,639		125,867		109,624		67,855		68,229		16.5	%	114.9	%
Construction real estate	449,734		479,744		455,894		477,004		630,329		(6.3)	%	(28.7)	%
Commercial real estate	4,007,037		4,031,484		4,226,614		4,438,374		4,332,561		(0.6)	%	(7.5)	%
Residential real estate	965,387		913,838		896,069		922,492		932,112		5.6	%	3.6	%
Home equity	725,700		707,973		708,399		709,050		711,756		2.5	%	2.0	%
Installment	146,680		132,197		119,454		96,077		89,143		11.0	%	64.5	%
Credit card	52,065		50,305		52,217		47,231		46,177		3.5	%	12.8	%
Total loans	9,420,417		9,241,617		9,288,299		9,360,931		9,511,510		1.9	%	(1.0)	%
Less:
Allowance for credit losses	(117,885)		(124,130)		(131,992)		(148,903)		(159,590)		(5.0)	%	(26.1)	%
Net loans	9,302,532		9,117,487		9,156,307		9,212,028		9,351,920		2.0	%	(0.5)	%
Premises and equipment	191,099		190,975		193,040		192,580		192,238		0.1	%	(0.6)	%
Operating leases	82,659		61,927		60,811		0		0		33.5	%	100.0	%
Goodwill	999,959		999,959		1,000,749		937,771		937,771		0.0	%	6.6	%
Other intangibles	82,889		85,891		88,898		56,811		59,391		(3.5)	%	39.6	%

Accrued interest and other assets	1,011,221		917,624		955,775		968,210		1,021,798		10.2	%	(1.0)	%
Total Assets	$	16,243,714	$	16,009,150	$	16,329,141	$	15,956,593	$	16,037,919	1.5	%	1.3	%

LIABILITIES
Deposits
Interest-bearing demand	$	3,096,365	$	3,246,646	$	3,198,745	$	2,916,860	$	2,963,151	(4.6)	%	4.5	%
Savings	4,029,717		4,188,867		4,157,374		4,223,905		4,093,229		(3.8)	%	(1.6)	%
Time	1,026,918		1,121,966		1,330,263		1,517,419		1,548,109		(8.5)	%	(33.7)	%
Total interest-bearing deposits	8,153,000		8,557,479		8,686,382		8,658,184		8,604,489		(4.7)	%	(5.2)	%
Noninterest-bearing	4,124,111		4,261,429		4,185,572		4,019,197		3,901,691		(3.2)	%	5.7	%
Total deposits	12,277,111		12,818,908		12,871,954		12,677,381		12,506,180		(4.2)	%	(1.8)	%
Federal funds purchased and securities sold
under agreements to repurchase	0		0		51,203		81,850		255,791		0.0	%	(100.0)	%
FHLB short-term borrowings	896,000		185,000		225,000		107,000		217,000		384.3	%	312.9	%
Other	0		0		20,000		0		0		0.0	%	0.0	%
Total short-term borrowings	896,000		185,000		296,203		188,850		472,791		384.3	%	89.5	%
Long-term debt	358,578		379,840		409,832		313,230		313,039		(5.6)	%	14.5	%
Total borrowed funds	1,254,578		564,840		706,035		502,080		785,830		122.1	%	59.7	%
Accrued interest and other liabilities	643,355		487,957		492,210		540,962		476,402		31.8	%	35.0	%
Total Liabilities	14,175,044		13,871,705		14,070,199		13,720,423		13,768,412		2.2	%	3.0	%

SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Common stock	1,637,237		1,634,903		1,640,358		1,637,065		1,635,470		0.1	%	0.1	%
Retained earnings	887,006		857,178		837,473		812,082		773,857		3.5	%	14.6	%
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	(243,328)		(142,477)		(433)		14,230		30,735		70.8	%	N/M
Treasury stock, at cost	(212,245)		(212,159)		(218,456)		(227,207)		(170,555)		0.0	%	24.4	%
Total Shareholders' Equity	2,068,670		2,137,445		2,258,942		2,236,170		2,269,507		(3.2)	%	(8.8)	%
Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity	$	16,243,714	$	16,009,150	$	16,329,141	$	15,956,593	$	16,037,919	1.5	%	1.3	%


FIRST FINANCIAL BANCORP.
AVERAGE CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CONDITION
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)

	Quarterly Averages										Year-to-Date Averages
	June 30,		Mar. 31,		Dec. 31,		Sep. 30,		June 30,		June 30,
	2022		2022		2021		2021		2021		2022		2021
ASSETS
Cash and due from banks	$	305,803	$	248,517	$	253,091	$	245,212	$	237,964	$	277,318	$	235,135

Interest-bearing deposits with other banks	236,797		234,687		166,904		32,400		45,593		235,748		46,249
Investment securities	4,118,287		4,308,059		4,343,513		4,189,253		4,130,207		4,212,649		3,957,559
Loans held for sale	15,446		15,589		24,491		28,365		28,348		15,517		29,015
Loans and leases
Commercial and industrial	2,884,373		2,736,613		2,552,686		2,634,306		2,953,185		2,810,901		2,991,239
Lease financing	134,334		115,703		67,537		67,159		66,124		125,070		68,304
Construction real estate	460,609		474,278		460,588		567,091		630,351		467,406		638,955
Commercial real estate	4,025,493		4,139,072		4,391,328		4,413,003		4,372,679		4,081,969		4,356,106
Residential real estate	936,165		903,567		917,399		937,969		940,600		919,956		960,548
Home equity	716,219		703,714		709,954		710,794		707,409		710,001		716,720
Installment	140,145		125,579		106,188		93,937		84,768		132,902		83,082
Credit card	55,036		52,659		53,056		50,126		48,501		53,854		47,610
Total loans	9,352,374		9,251,185		9,258,736		9,474,385		9,803,617		9,302,059		9,862,564
Less:
Allowance for credit losses	(123,950)		(129,601)		(144,756)		(157,727)		(169,979)		(126,760)		(173,899)
Net loans	9,228,424		9,121,584		9,113,980		9,316,658		9,633,638		9,175,299		9,688,665
Premises and equipment	191,895		192,832		192,941		193,775		200,558		192,361		203,576
Operating leases	73,862		61,297		659		0		0		67,614		0
Goodwill	999,958		1,000,238		938,453		937,771		937,771		1,000,097		937,771
Other intangibles	84,577		87,602		56,120		58,314		60,929		86,081		62,222

Accrued interest and other assets	930,929		914,514		946,265		994,060		940,461		922,767		969,347
Total Assets	$	16,185,978	$	16,184,919	$	16,036,417	$	15,995,808	$	16,215,469	$	16,185,451	$	16,129,539

LIABILITIES
Deposits
Interest-bearing demand	$	3,180,846	$	3,246,919	$	3,069,416	$	2,960,388	$	2,973,930	$	3,213,700	$	2,961,376
Savings	4,076,380		4,145,615		4,195,504		4,150,610		4,096,077		4,110,806		3,956,471
Time	1,055,650		1,231,266		1,428,872		1,574,951		1,637,546		1,142,973		1,702,326
Total interest-bearing deposits	8,312,876		8,623,800		8,693,792		8,685,949		8,707,553		8,467,479		8,620,173
Noninterest-bearing	4,224,842		4,160,175		4,191,457		3,981,404		4,003,626		4,192,687		3,922,288
Total deposits	12,537,718		12,783,975		12,885,249		12,667,353		12,711,179		12,660,166		12,542,461
Federal funds purchased and securities sold
under agreements to repurchase	24,229		45,358		79,382		186,401		194,478		34,735		189,508
FHLB short-term borrowings	586,846		257,800		2,445		63,463		40,846		423,232		53,961
Other	0		12,889		654		0		0		6,409		0
Total short-term borrowings	611,075		316,047		82,481		249,864		235,324		464,376		243,469
Long-term debt	359,168		385,240		314,262		313,100		513,790		372,132		573,898
Total borrowed funds	970,243		701,287		396,743		562,964		749,114		836,508		817,367
Accrued interest and other liabilities	578,347		474,162		512,605		504,198		491,489		526,542		501,518
Total Liabilities	14,086,308		13,959,424		13,794,597		13,734,515		13,951,782		14,023,216		13,861,346

SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Common stock	1,635,990		1,638,321		1,637,828		1,635,833		1,633,950		1,637,149		1,635,409
Retained earnings	866,910		841,652		822,500		783,760		754,456		854,351		740,481
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(190,949)		(38,448)		8,542		36,917		25,832		(115,120)		33,997
Treasury stock, at cost	(212,281)		(216,030)		(227,050)		(195,217)		(150,551)		(214,145)		(141,694)
Total Shareholders' Equity	2,099,670		2,225,495		2,241,820		2,261,293		2,263,687		2,162,235		2,268,193
Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity	$	16,185,978	$	16,184,919	$	16,036,417	$	15,995,808	$	16,215,469	$	16,185,451	$	16,129,539


FIRST FINANCIAL BANCORP.
NET INTEREST MARGIN RATE/VOLUME ANALYSIS
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)

	Quarterly Averages																				Year-to-Date Averages
	June 30, 2022						March 31, 2022						June 30, 2021						June 30, 2022	June 30, 2021
	Balance		Interest		Yield		Balance		Interest		Yield		Balance		Interest		Yield				Balance		Yield		Balance		Yield
Earning assets
Investments:
Investment securities	$	4,118,287	$	28,555	2.78	%	$	4,308,059	$	26,527	2.50	%	$	4,130,207	$	24,395	2.37	%			$	4,212,649	2.64	%	$	3,957,559	2.45	%
Interest-bearing deposits with other banks	236,797		497		0.84	%	234,687		121		0.21	%	45,593		25		0.22	%			235,748		0.53	%	46,249		0.23	%
Gross loans (1)	9,367,820		97,091		4.16	%	9,266,774		87,182		3.82	%	9,831,965		97,494		3.98	%			9,317,576		3.99	%	9,891,579		4.00	%
Total earning assets	13,722,904		126,143		3.69	%	13,809,520		113,830		3.34	%	14,007,765		121,914		3.49	%			13,765,973		3.52	%	13,895,387		3.55	%

Nonearning assets
Allowance for credit losses	(123,950)						(129,601)						(169,979)								(126,760)				(173,899)
Cash and due from banks	305,803						248,517						237,964								277,318				235,135
Accrued interest and other assets	2,281,221						2,256,483						2,139,719								2,268,920				2,172,916
Total assets	$	16,185,978					$	16,184,919					$	16,215,469							$	16,185,451			$	16,129,539

Interest-bearing liabilities
Deposits:
Interest-bearing demand	$	3,180,846	$	842	0.11	%	$	3,246,919	$	492	0.06	%	$	2,973,930	$	489	0.07	%			$	3,213,700	0.08	%	$	2,961,376	0.07	%
Savings	4,076,380		1,003		0.10	%	4,145,615		850		0.08	%	4,096,077		1,106		0.11	%			4,110,806		0.09	%	3,956,471		0.12	%
Time	1,055,650		1,118		0.42	%	1,231,266		1,281		0.42	%	1,637,546		2,098		0.51	%			1,142,973		0.42	%	1,702,326		0.56	%
Total interest-bearing deposits	8,312,876		2,963		0.14	%	8,623,800		2,623		0.12	%	8,707,553		3,693		0.17	%			8,467,479		0.13	%	8,620,173		0.19	%
Borrowed funds
Short-term borrowings	611,075		1,373		0.90	%	316,047		317		0.41	%	235,324		53		0.09	%			464,376		0.73	%	243,469		0.10	%
Long-term debt	359,168		4,612		5.15	%	385,240		4,544		4.78	%	513,790		4,142		3.23	%			372,132		4.96	%	573,898		2.98	%
Total borrowed funds	970,243		5,985		2.47	%	701,287		4,861		2.81	%	749,114		4,195		2.25	%			836,508		2.61	%	817,367		2.12	%
Total interest-bearing liabilities	9,283,119		8,948		0.39	%	9,325,087		7,484		0.33	%	9,456,667		7,888		0.33	%			9,303,987		0.36	%	9,437,540		0.36	%

Noninterest-bearing liabilities
Noninterest-bearing demand deposits	4,224,842						4,160,175						4,003,626								4,192,687				3,922,288
Other liabilities	578,347						474,162						491,489								526,542				501,518
Shareholders' equity	2,099,670						2,225,495						2,263,687								2,162,235				2,268,193
Total liabilities & shareholders' equity	$	16,185,978					$	16,184,919					$	16,215,469							$	16,185,451			$	16,129,539

Net interest income	$	117,195					$	106,346					$	114,026							$	223,541			$	227,902
Net interest spread					3.30	%					3.01	%					3.16	%					3.16	%			3.19	%
Net interest margin					3.43	%					3.12	%					3.27	%					3.27	%			3.31	%

Tax equivalent adjustment					0.04	%					0.05	%					0.04	%					0.05	%			0.04	%
Net interest margin (fully tax equivalent)					3.47	%					3.17	%					3.31	%					3.32	%			3.35	%


(1) Loans held for sale and nonaccrual loans are included in gross loans.


FIRST FINANCIAL BANCORP.
NET INTEREST MARGIN RATE/VOLUME ANALYSIS (1)
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)


	Linked Qtr. Income Variance						Comparable Qtr. Income Variance							Year-to-Date Income Variance
	Rate		Volume		Total			Rate		Volume		Total			Rate		Volume		Total
Earning assets
Investment securities	$	3,016	$	(988)	$	2,028		$	4,243	$	(83)	$	4,160		$	3,702	$	3,335	$	7,037
Interest-bearing deposits with other banks	366		10		376			71		401		472			68		497		565
Gross loans (2)	7,806		2,103		9,909			4,408		(4,811)		(403)			(800)		(11,352)		(12,152)
Total earning assets	11,188		1,125		12,313			8,722		(4,493)		4,229			2,970		(7,520)		(4,550)

Interest-bearing liabilities
Total interest-bearing deposits	$	417	$	(77)	$	340		$	(589)	$	(141)	$	(730)		$	(2,339)	$	(101)	$	(2,440)
Borrowed funds
Short-term borrowings	385		671		1,056			476		844		1,320			766		804		1,570
Long-term debt	348		(280)		68			2,455		(1,985)		470			5,645		(4,964)		681
Total borrowed funds	733		391		1,124			2,931		(1,141)		1,790			6,411		(4,160)		2,251
Total interest-bearing liabilities	1,150		314		1,464			2,342		(1,282)		1,060			4,072		(4,261)		(189)
Net interest income (1)	$	10,038	$	811	$	10,849		$	6,380	$	(3,211)	$	3,169		$	(1,102)	$	(3,259)	$	(4,361)


(1) Not tax equivalent.
(2) Loans held for sale and nonaccrual loans are included in gross loans.


FIRST FINANCIAL BANCORP.
CREDIT QUALITY
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)
																Six months ended
	June 30,			Mar. 31,			Dec. 31,			Sep. 30,			June 30,			June 30,			June 30,
	2022			2022			2021			2021			2021			2022			2021
ALLOWANCE FOR CREDIT LOSS ACTIVITY
Balance at beginning of period	$	124,130		$	131,992		$	148,903		$	159,590		$	169,923		$	131,992		$	175,679
Purchase accounting ACL for PCD	0			0			17			0			0			0			0
Provision for credit losses	(4,267)			(5,589)			(9,525)			(8,193)			(4,756)			(9,856)			(1,306)
Gross charge-offs
Commercial and industrial	773			2,845			1,364			2,617			3,729			3,618			11,639
Lease financing	8			131			0			0			0			139			0
Construction real estate	0			0			1,496			0			0			0			2
Commercial real estate	3,419			0			9,150			1,030			2,041			3,419			3,291
Residential real estate	4			22			6			74			46			26			47
Home equity	22			21			22			200			240			43			851
Installment	361			177			184			37			77			538			113
Credit card	212			246			149			230			179			458			401
Total gross charge-offs	4,799			3,442			12,371			4,188			6,312			8,241			16,344
Recoveries
Commercial and industrial	177			379			201			869			205			556			542
Lease financing	3			33			0			0			0			36			0
Construction real estate	0			0			0			0			3			0			3
Commercial real estate	2,194			222			4,292			223			75			2,416			270
Residential real estate	34			90			74			56			54			124			98
Home equity	360			265			303			426			317			625			494
Installment	47			21			27			53			37			68			71
Credit card	6			159			71			67			44			165			83
Total recoveries	2,821			1,169			4,968			1,694			735			3,990			1,561
Total net charge-offs	1,978			2,273			7,403			2,494			5,577			4,251			14,783
Ending allowance for credit losses	$	117,885		$	124,130		$	131,992		$	148,903		$	159,590		$	117,885		$	159,590

NET CHARGE-OFFS TO AVERAGE LOANS AND LEASES (ANNUALIZED)
Commercial and industrial	0.08		%	0.37		%	0.18		%	0.26		%	0.48		%	0.22		%	0.75		%
Lease financing	0.01		%	0.34		%	0.00		%	0.00		%	0.00		%	0.17		%	0.00		%
Construction real estate	0.00		%	0.00		%	1.29		%	0.00		%	0.00		%	0.00		%	0.00		%
Commercial real estate	0.12		%	(0.02)		%	0.44		%	0.07		%	0.18		%	0.05		%	0.14		%
Residential real estate	(0.01)		%	(0.03)		%	(0.03)		%	0.01		%	0.00		%	(0.02)		%	(0.01)		%
Home equity	(0.19)		%	(0.14)		%	(0.16)		%	(0.13)		%	(0.04)		%	(0.17)		%	0.10		%
Installment	0.90		%	0.50		%	0.59		%	(0.07)		%	0.19		%	0.71		%	0.10		%
Credit card	1.50		%	0.67		%	0.58		%	1.29		%	1.12		%	1.10		%	1.35		%

Total net charge-offs	0.08		%	0.10		%	0.32		%	0.10		%	0.23		%	0.09		%	0.30		%

COMPONENTS OF NONPERFORMING LOANS, NONPERFORMING ASSETS, AND UNDERPERFORMING ASSETS
Nonaccrual loans (1)
Commercial and industrial	$	11,675		$	14,390		$	17,362		$	15,160		$	27,426		$	11,675		$	27,426
Lease financing	217			249			203			0			16			217			16
Construction real estate	0			0			0			0			0			0			0
Commercial real estate	14,650			19,843			19,512			38,564			45,957			14,650			45,957
Residential real estate	8,879			7,432			8,305			9,416			9,480			8,879			9,480
Home equity	3,331			3,377			2,922			2,735			3,376			3,331			3,376
Installment	170			163			88			91			115			170			115
Nonaccrual loans	38,922			45,454			48,392			65,966			86,370			38,922			86,370
Accruing troubled debt restructurings (TDRs)	11,225			8,055			11,616			11,448			12,070			11,225			12,070
Total nonperforming loans	50,147			53,509			60,008			77,414			98,440			50,147			98,440
Other real estate owned (OREO)	22			72			98			340			340			22			340
Total nonperforming assets	50,169			53,581			60,106			77,754			98,780			50,169			98,780
Accruing loans past due 90 days or more	142			180			137			104			155			142			155
Total underperforming assets	$	50,311		$	53,761		$	60,243		$	77,858		$	98,935		$	50,311		$	98,935
Total classified assets	$	119,769		$	106,839		$	104,815		$	165,462		$	182,516		$	119,769		$	182,516

CREDIT QUALITY RATIOS
Allowance for credit losses to
Nonaccrual loans	302.87		%	273.09		%	272.76		%	225.73		%	184.77		%	302.87		%	184.77		%
Nonperforming loans	235.08		%	231.98		%	219.96		%	192.35		%	162.12		%	235.08		%	162.12		%
Total ending loans	1.25		%	1.34		%	1.42		%	1.59		%	1.68		%	1.25		%	1.68		%
Nonperforming loans to total loans	0.53		%	0.58		%	0.65		%	0.83		%	1.03		%	0.53		%	1.03		%
Nonaccrual loans to total loans	0.41		%	0.49		%	0.52		%	0.70		%	0.91		%	0.41		%	0.91		%
Nonperforming assets to
Ending loans, plus OREO	0.53		%	0.58		%	0.65		%	0.83		%	1.04		%	0.53		%	1.04		%
Total assets	0.31		%	0.33		%	0.37		%	0.49		%	0.62		%	0.31		%	0.62		%
Nonperforming assets, excluding accruing TDRs to
Ending loans, plus OREO	0.41		%	0.49		%	0.52		%	0.71		%	0.91		%	0.41		%	0.91		%
Total assets	0.24		%	0.28		%	0.30		%	0.42		%	0.54		%	0.24		%	0.54		%
Classified assets to total assets	0.74		%	0.67		%	0.64		%	1.04		%	1.14		%	0.74		%	1.14		%

(1) Nonaccrual loans include nonaccrual TDRs of $9.5 million, $16.2 million, $16.0 million, $20.3 million, and $21.5 million, as of June 30, 2022, March 31, 2022, December 31, 2021, September 30, 2021, and June 30, 2021, respectively.


FIRST FINANCIAL BANCORP.
CAPITAL ADEQUACY
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
																Six months ended,
	June 30,			Mar. 31,			Dec. 31,			Sep. 30,			June 30,			June 30,			June 30,
	2022			2022			2021			2021			2021			2022			2021
PER COMMON SHARE
Market Price
High	$	23.03		$	26.73		$	25.79		$	24.06		$	26.02		$	26.73		$	26.40
Low	$	19.09		$	22.92		$	22.89		$	21.48		$	23.35		$	19.09		$	17.62
Close	$	19.40		$	23.05		$	24.38		$	23.41		$	23.63		$	19.40		$	23.63

Average shares outstanding - basic	93,555,131			93,383,932			92,903,900			94,289,097			96,123,645			93,470,005			96,496,720
Average shares outstanding - diluted	94,449,817			94,263,925			93,761,909			95,143,930			97,009,712			94,357,392			97,366,640
Ending shares outstanding	94,448,792			94,451,496			94,149,240			93,742,797			96,199,509			94,448,792			96,199,509

Total shareholders' equity	$	2,068,670		$	2,137,445		$	2,258,942		$	2,236,170		$	2,269,507		$	2,068,670		$	2,269,507

REGULATORY CAPITAL	Preliminary															Preliminary
Common equity tier 1 capital	$	1,307,259		$	1,272,115		$	1,262,789		$	1,316,059		$	1,333,209		$	1,307,259		$	1,333,209
Common equity tier 1 capital ratio	10.91		%	10.87		%	10.84		%	11.54		%	11.78		%	10.91		%	11.78		%
Tier 1 capital	$	1,351,287		$	1,316,020		$	1,306,571		$	1,359,297		$	1,376,333		$	1,351,287		$	1,376,333
Tier 1 ratio	11.28		%	11.24		%	11.22		%	11.92		%	12.16		%	11.28		%	12.16		%
Total capital	$	1,670,367		$	1,635,003		$	1,642,549		$	1,706,513		$	1,732,930		$	1,670,367		$	1,732,930
Total capital ratio	13.94		%	13.97		%	14.10		%	14.97		%	15.31		%	13.94		%	15.31		%
Total capital in excess of minimum requirement	$	412,432		$	406,011		$	419,754		$	509,536		$	544,478		$	412,432		$	544,478
Total risk-weighted assets	$	11,980,331		$	11,704,681		$	11,645,666		$	11,399,782		$	11,318,590		$	11,980,331		$	11,318,590
Leverage ratio	8.76		%	8.64		%	8.70		%	9.05		%	9.14		%	8.76		%	9.14		%

OTHER CAPITAL RATIOS
Ending shareholders' equity to ending assets	12.74		%	13.35		%	13.83		%	14.01		%	14.15		%	12.74		%	14.15		%
Ending tangible shareholders' equity to ending tangible assets (1)	6.40		%	6.95		%	7.58		%	8.21		%	8.37		%	6.40		%	8.37		%
Average shareholders' equity to average assets	12.97		%	13.75		%	13.98		%	14.14		%	13.96		%	13.36		%	14.06		%
Average tangible shareholders' equity to average tangible assets (1)	6.62		%	7.44		%	8.20		%	8.35		%	8.23		%	7.03		%	8.30		%

REPURCHASE PROGRAM (2)
Shares repurchased	0			0			0			2,484,295			1,308,945			0			2,149,060
Average share repurchase price	N/A			N/A			N/A			$	23.04		$	25.11		N/A			$	23.66
Total cost of shares repurchased	N/A			N/A			N/A			$	57,231		$	32,864		N/A			$	50,846

(1) Non-GAAP measure. For details on the calculation of these non-GAAP financial measures and a reconciliation to the GAAP financial measure, see the sections titled “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” in this release and “Appendix: Non-GAAP to GAAP Reconciliation” in the accompanying slide presentation.
(2) Represents share repurchases as part of publicly announced plans.

N/A = Not applicable

earnings presentation • Second Quarter 2022 Exhibit 99.2

forward looking statements disclosure 2 Certain statements contained in this report which are not statements of historical fact constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as ‘‘believes,’’ ‘‘anticipates,’’ “likely,” “expected,” “estimated,” ‘‘intends’’ and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements we make about (i) our future operating or financial performance, including revenues, income or loss and earnings or loss per share, (ii) future common stock dividends, (iii) our capital structure, including future capital levels, (iv) our plans, objectives and strategies, and (v) the assumptions that underlie our forward-looking statements. As with any forecast or projection, forward-looking statements are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but instead express only management’s beliefs regarding future results or events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of management’s control. It is possible that actual results and outcomes may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results or outcomes indicated in these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in our forward-looking statements include the following, without limitation: • economic, market, liquidity, credit, interest rate, operational and technological risks associated with the Company’s business; • future credit quality and performance, including our expectations regarding future loan losses and our allowance for credit losses; • the effect of and changes in policies and laws or regulatory agencies, including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and other legislation and regulation relating to the banking industry; (iv) management’s ability to effectively execute its business plans; • mergers and acquisitions, including costs or difficulties related to the integration of acquired companies; • the possibility that any of the anticipated benefits of the Company’s acquisitions will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected time period; • the effect of changes in accounting policies and practices; • changes in consumer spending, borrowing and saving and changes in unemployment; • changes in customers’ performance and creditworthiness; • the costs and effects of litigation and of unexpected or adverse outcomes in such litigation; • current and future economic and market conditions, including the effects of changes in housing prices, fluctuations in unemployment rates, U.S. fiscal debt, budget and tax matters, geopolitical matters, and any slowdown in global economic growth; • the adverse impact on the U.S. economy, including the markets in which we operate, of the novel coronavirus, which causes the Coronavirus disease 2019 (“COVID-19”), global pandemic, and the impact on the performance of our loan and lease portfolio, the market value of our investment securities, the availability of sources of funding and the demand for our products; • our capital and liquidity requirements (including under regulatory capital standards, such as the Basel III capital standards) and our ability to generate capital internally or raise capital on favorable terms;

forward looking statements disclosure 3 • financial services reform and other current, pending or future legislation or regulation that could have a negative effect on our revenue and businesses, including the Dodd-Frank Act and other legislation and regulation relating to bank products and services; • the effect of the current interest rate environment or changes in interest rates or in the level or composition of our assets or liabilities on our net interest income, net interest margin and our mortgage originations, mortgage servicing rights and mortgage loans held for sale; • the effect of a fall in stock market prices on our brokerage, asset and wealth management businesses; • a failure in or breach of our operational or security systems or infrastructure, or those of our third-party vendors or other service providers, including as a result of cyber attacks; • the effect of changes in the level of checking or savings account deposits on our funding costs and net interest margin; and • our ability to develop and execute effective business plans and strategies. Additional factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those described in our forward-looking statements can be found in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, as well as our other filings with the SEC, which are available on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements included in this filing are made as of the date hereof and are based on information available at the time of the filing. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

2Q 2022 results 127th Consecutive Quarter of Profitability 4 • EOP assets increased $234.6 million compared to the linked quarter to $16.2 billion • EOP loans increased $178.8 million compared to the linked quarter to $9.4 billion • Average deposits decreased $246.3 million compared to the linked quarter to $12.5 billion • EOP investment securities decreased $101.3 million compared to the linked quarter Balance Sheet Profitability Asset Quality Income Statement Capital • Noninterest income - $49.8 million; $50.8 million as adjusted1 • Noninterest expense - $103.2 million; $102.4 million as adjusted1 • Efficiency ratio – 61.8%. Adjusted1 efficiency ratio – 60.9% • Effective tax rate of 20.2%. Adjusted1 effective tax rate of 20.3% • Net interest income - $117.2 million • Net interest margin of 3.43% on a GAAP basis; 3.47% on a fully tax equivalent basis1 • Net income - $51.5 million or $0.55 per diluted share. Adjusted1 net income - $53.0 million or $0.56 per diluted share • Return on average assets - 1.28%. Adjusted1 return on average assets - 1.31% • Return on average shareholders’ equity – 9.84%. Adjusted1 return on average shareholders’ equity – 10.12% • Return on average tangible common equity - 20.68%1. Adjusted1 return on average tangible common equity – 21.26% • Provision recapture - $0.8 million • Net charge-offs - $2.0 million. NCOs / Avg. Loans - 0.08% annualized • Classified Assets / Total Assets - 0.74% • NPA / Total Assets – 0.31% • ACL / Total loans – 1.25% • Total capital ratio – 13.94% • Tier 1 common equity ratio – 10.91% • Tangible common equity ratio – 6.40% • Tangible book value per share – $10.27 • Repurchased no shares during the quarter 1 Non-GAAP financial measure which management believes facilitates a better understanding of the Company’s financial condition. See Appendix for Non-GAAP reconciliation.

2Q 2022 highlights • Quarterly earnings driven by net interest margin, strong fee income generation and diligent expense management • Adjusted1 earnings per share - $0.56 • Adjusted1 return on assets - 1.31% • Adjusted1 pre-tax, pre-provision return on assets - 1.63% • Adjusted1 return on average tangible common equity – 21.26% • End of period loan balances increased with improving origination volumes across the portfolio • EOP loan balances increased $178.8 million compared to the linked quarter; 7.8% on an annualized basis • Loan balances increased $191.4 million, or 8.3% on an annualized basis, when excluding $12.6 million decline in PPP loan balances • Total average deposit balances decreased $246.3 million, primarily driven by $135.6 million decline in brokered CD’s and $103.8 million decline in money market accounts • Average demand deposit balances relatively unchanged from prior quarter at $7.4 billion • Average noninterest bearing deposits were 33.7% of total deposits • Decline in money market accounts related to 3 relationships • Accelerating net interest margin (FTE) • 30 bp increase from first quarter driven by increase in interest rates • 34 bp increase in loan yields offset modest 2 bp increase in cost of interest-bearing deposits • Adjusted1 noninterest income of $50.8 million exceeded expectations • Record Foreign exchange income of $13.5 million, an increase of $3.3 million, or 32.7%, from linked quarter • Wealth management fees of $6.3 million remained strong; relatively unchanged compared to the linked quarter • Mortgage banking revenue of $5.2 million, an increase of $1.4 million, or 35.4%, compared to linked quarter • Other noninterest income of $5.7 million, an increase of $2.3 million, or 65.9%, compared to the linked quarter driven by income from limited partnership investments • Leasing business revenue of $7.2 million during the quarter, an increase of $1.2 million, or 19.3%, compared to linked quarter • Adjusted1 for $1.1 million loss on investment securities 1 Non-GAAP financial measure which management believes facilitates a better understanding of the Company’s financial condition. See Appendix for Non-GAAP reconciliations. 2The fair value measurements of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the Summit acquisition 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 becomes available. 5

2Q 2022 highlights • Noninterest expenses in line with expectations • Adjusted1 noninterest expense of $102.4 million; Adjusted1 for $0.1 million in Summit acquisition costs and $0.7 million of other costs not expected to recur such as severance and branch consolidation costs • $9.9 million of Summit operating expenses during the quarter, including intangible amortization • Slight increase compared to linked quarter driven by elevated incentive compensation tied to fee income • Efficiency ratio of 61.8%; 60.9% as adjusted1 • Allowance for credit loss (ACL) and provision expense declined compared to linked quarter • Total ACL of $134.5 million; provision recapture of $0.8 million o Loans and leases - ACL of $117.9 million; 1.25% of total loans o Unfunded Commitments - ACL of $16.7 million • NPA to total assets of 0.31% • NCOs declined to 8 bps of average loans and leases • Nonaccrual loans of $38.9 million; $6.5 million, or 14.4%, decline compared to linked quarter • Regulatory capital ratios in excess of internal targets • Total capital ratio of 13.94% • Tier 1 common equity of 10.91%; 4 basis point increase from linked quarter • Tangible book value decreased by $0.70 to $10.27 due to decline in AOCI • Tangible common equity of 6.40%; 7.07% excluding $100.9 million decline in AOCI • No shares repurchased in second quarter 6 1 Non-GAAP financial measure which management believes facilitates a better understanding of the Company’s financial condition. See Appendix for Non-GAAP reconciliations. 2The fair value measurements of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the Summit acquisition 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 becomes available. .

adjusted net income1 7 The table below lists certain adjustments that the Company believes are significant to understanding its quarterly performance. 1 Non-GAAP financial measure which management believes facilitates a better understanding of the Company’s financial condition. See Appendix for Non-GAAP reconciliations. All dollars shown in thousands, except per share amounts As Reported Adjusted 1 As Reported Adjusted 1 Net interest income 117,195$ 117,195$ 106,346$ 106,346$ Provision for credit losses-loans and leases (4,267)$ (4,267)$ (5,589)$ (5,589)$ Provision for credit losses-unfunded commitments 3,481$ 3,481$ (226)$ (226)$ Noninterest income 49,786$ 49,786$ 41,293$ 41,293$ less: gains (losses) on investment securities - (1,054) A - (196) A Total noninterest income 49,786$ 50,840$ 41,293$ 41,489$ Noninterest expense 103,227$ 103,227$ 102,805$ 102,805$ less: tax credit investment - 104 A - 104 A less: Summit acquistion costs - 100 A - 323 A less: other - 666 A - 2,354 A Total noninterest expense 103,227$ 102,357$ 102,805$ 100,024$ Income before income taxes 64,540$ 66,464$ 50,649$ 53,626$ Income tax expense 13,020$ 13,020$ 9,348$ 9,348$ plus: after-tax impact of tax credit investment @ 21% - 82 - 83 plus: tax effect of adjustments (A) @ 21% statutory rate - 404 - 625 Total income tax expense 13,020$ 13,506$ 9,348$ 10,056$ Net income 51,520$ 52,958$ 41,301$ 43,570$ Net earnings per share - diluted 0.55$ 0.56$ 0.44$ 0.46$ Pre-tax, pre-provision return on average assets 1.58% 1.63% 1.12% 1.20% 2Q 2022 1Q 2022

profitability 8 Return on Average Assets Return on Avg Tangible Common Equity Diluted EPS 1 Non-GAAP financial measure which management believes facilitates a better understanding of the Company’s financial condition. See Appendix for Non-GAAP reconciliation. Efficiency Ratio $0.55 $0.44$0.50 $0.63 $0.52 $0.56 $0.46 $0.58 $0.63 $0.58 2Q221Q224Q213Q212Q21 Diluted EPS Adjusted EPS1 1.28% 1.03%1.16% 1.49% 1.26% 1.31% 1.09% 1.34% 1.49% 1.39% 2Q221Q224Q213Q212Q21 ROA Adjusted ROA1 20.68% 14.93%15.11% 19.03% 16.31% 21.26% 15.75% 17.43% 19.00%18.03% 2Q221Q224Q213Q212Q21 ROATCE Adjusted ROATCE1 63.5% 63.5% 70.1% 69.6% 61.8% 58.4% 60.1% 60.2% 67.7% 60.9% 2Q21 3Q21 4Q21 1Q22 2Q22 Efficiency Ratio Adjusted Efficiency Ratio1

net interest income & margin 9 Net Interest Margin (FTE) 2Q22 NIM (FTE) Progression Net Interest Income All dollars shown in millions $3.9 $3.7$6.5$3.9$3.4 $2.6 $2.2$2.3 $3.0$3.5 $0.6 $1.7 $5.6$9.3$9.2 $117.2 $106.3 $110.8 $113.4$114.0 2Q221Q224Q213Q212Q21 Loan Fees Loan Accretion PPP Interest/Fees 3.26% 2.94% 2.82%2.87%2.89% 0.11% 0.11% 0.18%0.11%0.10% 0.08% 0.07% 0.07%0.09%0.10% 0.02% 0.05%0.16% 0.25%0.22% 3.47% 3.17% 3.23% 3.32%3.31% 2Q221Q224Q213Q212Q21 Basic Margin (FTE) Loan Fees Loan Accretion PPP Fees 1Q22 3.17% PPP loan fees -0.03% Loan accretion 0.01% Other loan fees 0.01% Asset yields/mix 0.37% Deposit/funding costs/mix -0.04% Day count -0.02% 2Q22 3.47%

average balance sheet 10 Average Loans Average Securities Average Deposits All dollars shown in millions 1 Includes loans fees and loan accretion $9,368$9,267$9,283$9,503$9,832 4.16% 3.82% 3.96%4.03% 3.98% 2Q221Q224Q213Q212Q21 Gross Loans Loan Yield (Gross) 1 $12,538$12,784$12,885$12,667$12,711 0.09%0.08%0.10%0.10%0.12% 2Q221Q224Q213Q212Q21 Total Deposits Cost of Deposits $4,118$4,308$4,344$4,189$4,130 2.78%2.50%2.29%2.31%2.37% 2Q221Q224Q213Q212Q21 Average Investment Securities Investment Securities Yield

11 1NII – Year 1 impact, represents percentage change for immediate parallel changes in rates 2Reflects percentage of loans classified as variable rate and repricing in ≤ 1yr, hybrid variable rate repricing in > 1yr, or fixed rate, including loans held for sale 3Schedule reflects remaining maturity or repricing frequency for all fixed rate loans or hybrid variable rate loans repricing in > 1yr, including loans held for sale asset sensitive balance sheet positioning Net Interest Income Sensitivity 1 Loans - Variable Exposure2 Fixed/Hybrid Years to Maturity/Repricing3 11% 9% 10% 70% ≤1 yr 1‐2 yrs 2‐3 yrs > 3 yrs -10.9% 6.6% 12.2% -100 bps +100 bps +200 bps Variable ≤ 1yr 66% Hybrid > 1yr 8% Fixed 26%

liquid balance sheet presents opportunity 12 1Historical data adjusted for the merger with MainSource Financial Group, Inc. using the sum of the individual components. Historical Deposit and Loan Betas1 Total Deposit Beta Loan Beta Excess Liquidity Provides Significant Tailwind 24% 31% 3Q15‐2Q19 Fed Cycle (+225bps) 3Q19‐4Q21 Fed Cycle (‐225bps) 53.1% 72.0% 3Q15‐2Q19 Fed Cycle (+225bps) 3Q19‐4Q21 Fed Cycle (‐225bps) 88% 81% 79% 76% 74% 72% 72% 77% 3Q20 4Q20 1Q21 2Q21 3Q21 4Q21 1Q22 2Q22 Loans / Deposits Ratio 22% 25% 26% 28% 29% 30% 29% 28% 3Q20 4Q20 1Q21 2Q21 3Q21 4Q21 1Q22 2Q22 Cash + Securities / Assets

loan portfolio 13 Loan LOB Mix (EOP) Net Loan Change-LOB (Linked Quarter) All dollars shown in millions Total growth/(decline): $178.8 million ICRE $3,736 40% Commercial & Small Business Banking $2,756 29% Consumer $898 10% Mortgage $1,056 11% Oak Street $586 6% Franchise $294 3% Summit $85 1% Total $9.4 Billion ‐$56.9 $72.4 $31.4 $10.9 $29.4 $34.1 $70.1 ‐$12.6 ICRE Commercial & Small Business Banking Oak Street Franchise Summit Consumer Mortgage PPP

loan concentrations 14 C&I Loans by Industry CRE Loans by Collateral 1 Industry types included in Other representing greater than 1% of total C&I loans include Public Administration, Waste Management, Agriculture, Other Services, Arts & Recreation, and Information. Includes owner-occupied CRE. 2 Collateral types included in Other representing greater than 1% of total CRE loans include Residential Multi-Family 5+ Construction, Manufacturing Facility, Farmland, Residential 1-4 Family, Recreation Facility, Church, Real Estate IUB Other, and Student Housing. Finance & Insurance 21% Real Estate 16% Manufacturing 16% Accommodation & Food Services 7% Health Care 6% Construction 6% Professional & Tech 5% Wholesale Trade 5%Retail Trade 4% Transportation & Warehousing 3% Other1 11% C&I Loans: $3.0B Residential, Multi Family 5+ 19% Retail 17% Office 14% Hotel/Motel 8% Nursing/Assisted Living 7% Warehouse 5% Industrial Facility 4% Restaurant 3% Medical Office 3% Other2 20% CRE Loans: $4.3B

deposits 15 Deposit Product Mix (Avg) 2Q22 Average Deposit Progression All dollars shown in millions Total growth/(decline): ($246.3) million ‐$1.7 $35.9 $31.2 ‐$103.8 ‐$33.3 ‐$135.6 ‐$39.0 Interest‐bearing demand Noninterest‐bearing Savings Money Markets Retail CDs Brokered CDs Public Funds Interest‐bearing demand $1,880 15% Noninterest‐ bearing $3,989 32% Savings $1,375 11% Money Markets $2,225 18% Retail CDs $907 7% Brokered CDs $80 1% Public Funds $2,082 16% Total $12.5 billion

noninterest income 16 Noninterest Income 2Q22 Highlights All dollars shown in thousands • Total fee income 29.8% of net revenue • Record Foreign exchange income of $13.5 million; increased $3.3 million, or 32.7%, from linked quarter • Trust and wealth management fees of $6.3 million remained flat compared to the linked quarter • Deposit service charge income of $7.6 million; decreased $0.1 million, or 1.0%, from the linked quarter due to program changes • Mortgage banking income of $5.2 million; increased $1.4 million, or 35.4%, from the linked quarter • Client derivative income of $1.4 million; increased $0.6 million, or 69.3% from the linked quarter • Other noninterest income of $4.7 million; increased $1.4 million, or 43.7%, from the linked quarter due to elevated income from limited partnership investments Service Charges $7,648 15% Wealth Mgmt $6,311 13% Bankcard income $3,823 8% Client derivative fees $1,353 3% Foreign exchange income $13,470 27% Leasing business income $7,247 15% Mortgage origination income $5,241 10% Other $4,693 9% Total $49.8 million

noninterest expense 17 Noninterest Expense 2Q22 Highlights All dollars shown in thousands • Core expenses increased due to annual merit increases, leasing business expenses and elevated incentive compensation tied to fee income • Adjustments include: • $0.1 million of acquisition related costs • $0.7 million of other costs not expected to recur such as branch consolidation and severance costs Salaries and benefits $64,992 63% Occupancy and equipment $8,560 8% Data processing $8,334 8% Professional services $2,214 2% Intangible amortization $2,915 3% Leasing business expense $4,687 5% Other $11,525 11% Total $103.2 million

current expected credit losses - loans and leases 18 ACL / Total Loans 2Q22 Highlights All dollars shown in thousands • $134.5 million combined ACL; $0.8 million combined provision recapture • $117.9 million ACL – loans and leases, or 1.25% of loan balances; driven by strong credit quality • Utilized Moody’s June baseline forecast in quantitative model • $16.7 million ACL – unfunded commitments ACL by Loan Type All dollars shown in millions $117.9$124.1$132.0 $148.9$159.6 1.25%1.34%1.42% 1.59%1.68% 2Q221Q224Q213Q212Q21 Allowance for Credit Losses ACL / Total Loans 2Q21 3Q21 4Q21 1Q22 2Q22 Loans Commercial and industrial 46,797$ 43,534$ 44,052$ 37,783$ 39,179$ Lease financing 1,457 1,083 1,633 2,093 2,212 Real estate ‐construction 20,359 15,390 11,874 11,410 11,965 Real estate ‐ commercial 70,305 68,594 53,420 51,512 39,856 Real estate ‐ residential 6,879 6,480 6,225 6,152 7,383 Home equity 9,684 9,538 9,643 9,676 10,980 Installment 1,211 1,177 1,097 1,075 1,189 Credit card 2,898 3,107 4,048 4,429 5,121 ACL‐loan and lease losses 159,590$ 148,903$ 131,992$ 124,130$ 117,885$ ACL‐unfunded commitments 13,558$ 11,607$ 13,406$ 13,179$ 16,661$

asset quality 19 Nonperforming Assets / Total AssetsClassified Assets / Total Assets Net Charge Offs & Provision Expense1 . 1 Provision includes both loans & leases and unfunded commitments All dollars shown in millions $119.8 $106.8$104.8 $165.5 $182.5 0.74%0.67%0.64% 1.04% 1.14% 2Q221Q224Q213Q212Q21 Classified Assets Classified Assets / Total Assets $50.2$53.6$60.1 $77.8 $98.8 0.31%0.33%0.37% 0.49% 0.62% 2Q221Q224Q213Q212Q21 NPAs NPAs / Total Assets $5.6 $2.5 $7.4 $2.3 $2.0 ‐$4.2 ‐$10.1 ‐$7.7 ‐$5.8 ‐$0.8 0.08%0.10% 0.32% 0.10% 0.23% 2Q21 3Q21 4Q21 1Q22 2Q22 NCOs Provision Expense NCOs / Average Loans

capital 20 Tier 1 Common Equity Ratio Total Capital Ratio Tangible Common Equity Ratio 6/30 Risk Weighted Assets = $11,980,331 All capital numbers are considered preliminary. 1Decline in 2Q22 due to $100.9 million decline in AOCI Tier 1 Capital Ratio 13.94%13.97%14.10% 14.97%15.31% 10.50% 2Q221Q224Q213Q212Q21 Total Capital Ratio Basel III minimum 6.40%1 6.95% 7.58% 8.21%8.37% 2Q221Q224Q213Q212Q21 Tangible Common Equity Ratio 10.91%10.87%10.84%11.54%11.78% 7.00% 2Q221Q224Q213Q212Q21 Tier 1 Common Equity Ratio Basel III minimum 11.28%11.24%11.22% 11.92%12.16% 8.50% 2Q221Q224Q213Q212Q21 Tier 1 Capital Ratio Basel III minimum

capital strategy 21 Strategy & Deployment Tangible Book Value Per Share • 4.7% annualized dividend yield • 42.1% of 2Q22 earnings returned to shareholders through common dividend • Most recent internal stress testing indicates capital ratios above regulatory minimums in all modeled scenarios • Common dividend expected to remain unchanged in near-term • No shares repurchased in 2Q22; no plans to repurchase shares in near- term• 2Q22 decline in TBV per share driven by decline in AOCI $10.27 $10.97 $12.26 $13.09 $13.08 2Q221Q224Q213Q212Q21 Tangible Book Value per Share

outlook commentary1 • Loan balances expected to grow mid-high single digits in near term • Transaction deposit balances expected to decline modestly over near-term 22 • Expected to be $102-104 million • Will fluctuate with fee incomeNoninterest Expense Net Interest Margin Balance Sheet Credit • Continued improvement expected in credit quality trends • Increasing provision expense expected for remainder of year • Uncertainty regarding inflation and impact of rate hikes Noninterest Income • Total fee income expected to be $46-48 million • Mortgage banking at risk from rising rate environment • Overdraft fees to decline approximately $1.2 million in third quarter due to program changes 1 See Forward Looking Statement Disclosure on page 2-3 of this presentation for a discussion of factors that could affect management’s expectations and results in future periods. • Expected to be 3.85% - 4.00% with anticipated interest rate increases • Asset sensitive position advantageous with rising rates Capital • Expect to maintain dividend at current levels Summit • Unchanged outlook; negligible impact on 2022 EPS • Expected positive impact to earnings in third quarter • $400 million of annual originations, growing at double digits

The Company’s Investor Presentation contains certain financial information determined by methods other than in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP). Such non-GAAP financial information should be considered supplemental to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. However, we believe that non-GAAP reporting provides meaningful information and therefore we use it to supplement our GAAP information. We have chosen to provide this supplemental information to investors, analysts and other interested parties to enable them to perform additional analyses of operating results, to illustrate the results of operations giving effect to the non-GAAP adjustments and to provide an additional measure of performance. We believe this information is helpful in understanding the results of operations separate and apart from items that may, or could, have a disproportional positive or negative impact in any given period. For a reconciliation of the differences between the non-GAAP financial measures and the most comparable GAAP measures, please refer to the following reconciliation tables. to GAAP Reconciliation 23 appendix: non-GAAP measures

appendix: non-GAAP to GAAP reconciliation 24 All dollars shown in thousands Net interest income and net interest margin - fully tax equivalent June 30, Mar. 31, Dec. 31, Sep. 30, June 30, 2022 2022 2021 2021 2021 Net interest income 117,195$ 106,346$ 110,806$ 113,410$ 114,026$ Tax equivalent adjustment 1,625 1,467 1,386 1,434 1,619 Net interest income - tax equivalent 118,820$ 107,813$ 112,192$ 114,844$ 115,645$ Average earning assets 13,722,904$ 13,809,520$ 13,793,644$ 13,724,403$ 14,007,765$ Net interest margin1 3.43 % 3.12 % 3.19 % 3.28 % 3.27 % Net interest margin (fully tax equivalent)1 3.47 % 3.17 % 3.23 % 3.32 % 3.31 % Three months ended 1 Margins are calculated using net interest income annualized divided by average earning assets. The tax equivalent adjustment to net interest income recognizes the income tax savings when comparing taxable and tax-exempt assets and assumes a 21% tax rate. Management believes that it is a standard practice in the banking industry to present net interest margin and net interest income on a fully tax equivalent basis. Therefore, management believes these measures provide useful information to investors by allowing them to make peer comparisons. Management also uses these measures to make peer comparisons.

appendix: non-GAAP to GAAP reconciliation 25 All dollars shown in thousands Additional non-GAAP ratios June 30, Mar. 31, Dec. 31, Sep. 30, June 30, (Dollars in thousands, except per share data) 2022 2022 2021 2021 2021 Net income (a) 51,520$ 41,301$ 46,945$ 60,012$ 50,888$ Average total shareholders' equity 2,099,670 2,225,495 2,241,820 2,261,293 2,263,687 Less: Goodw ill (999,958) (1,000,238) (938,453) (937,771) (937,771) Other intangibles (84,577) (87,602) (56,120) (58,314) (60,929) MSR's (15,777) (15,431) (14,886) (14,215) (13,310) Average tangible equity (b) 999,358 1,122,224 1,232,361 1,250,993 1,251,677 Total shareholders' equity 2,068,670 2,137,445 2,258,942 2,236,170 2,269,507 Less: Goodw ill (999,959) (999,959) (1,000,749) (937,771) (937,771) Other intangibles (82,889) (85,891) (88,898) (56,811) (59,391) MSR's (16,130) (15,782) (15,469) (14,852) (14,142) Ending tangible equity (c) 969,692 1,035,813 1,153,826 1,226,736 1,258,203 Total assets 16,243,714 16,009,150 16,329,141 15,956,593 16,037,919 Less: Goodw ill (999,959) (999,959) (1,000,749) (937,771) (937,771) Other intangibles (82,889) (85,891) (88,898) (56,811) (59,391) MSR's (16,130) (15,782) (15,469) (14,852) (14,142) Ending tangible assets (d) 15,144,736 14,907,518 15,224,025 14,947,159 15,026,615 Risk-w eighted assets (e) 11,980,331 11,704,681 11,645,666 11,399,782 11,318,590 Total average assets 16,185,978 16,184,919 16,036,417 15,995,808 16,215,469 Less: Goodw ill (999,958) (1,000,238) (938,453) (937,771) (937,771) Other intangibles (84,577) (87,602) (56,120) (58,314) (60,929) MSR's (15,777) (15,431) (14,886) (14,215) (13,310) Average tangible assets (f) 15,085,666$ 15,081,648$ 15,026,958$ 14,985,508$ 15,203,459$ Ending shares outstanding (g) 94,448,792 94,451,496 94,149,240 93,742,797 96,199,509 Ratios Return on average tangible shareholders' equity (a)/(b) 20.68% 14.93% 15.11% 19.03% 16.31% Ending tangible equity as a percent of: Ending tangible assets (c)/(d) 6.40% 6.95% 7.58% 8.21% 8.37% Risk-w eighted assets (c)/(e) 8.09% 8.85% 9.91% 10.76% 11.12% Average tangible equity as a percent of average tangible assets (b)/(f) 6.62% 7.44% 8.20% 8.35% 8.23% Tangible book value per share (c)/(g) 10.27$ 10.97$ 12.26$ 13.09$ 13.08$ Three months ended,

appendix: non-GAAP to GAAP reconciliation 26 Additional non-GAAP measures As Reported Adjusted As Reported Adjusted As Reported Adjusted As Reported Adjusted As Reported Adjusted Net interest income (f) 117,195$ 117,195$ 106,346$ 106,346$ 110,806$ 110,806$ 113,410$ 113,410$ 114,026$ 114,026$ Provision for credit losses-loans and leases (j) (4,267) (4,267) (5,589) (5,589) (9,525) (9,525) (8,193) (8,193) (4,756) (4,756) Provision for credit losses-unfunded commitments (j) 3,481 3,481 (226) (226) 1,799 1,799 (1,951) (1,951) 517 517 Noninterest income 49,786 49,786 41,293 41,293 45,660 45,660 42,537 42,537 42,987 42,987 less: gains (losses) on sale of investment securities (1,054) (196) 306 (205) (104) less: other - - - 500 - Total noninterest income (g) 49,786 50,840 41,293 41,489 45,660 45,354 42,537 42,242 42,987 43,091 Noninterest expense 103,227 103,227 102,805 102,805 109,605 109,605 99,058 99,058 99,643 99,643 less: severance and merger-related expenses - - - - 98 less: tax credit investments 104 104 6,120 5,309 1,156 less: legal settlement - - 3,456 3,825 less: Summit acquisition costs 100 323 4,095 - - less: COVID-19 and other 666 2,354 1,870 181 2,772 Total noninterest expense (e) 103,227 102,357 102,805 100,024 109,605 94,064 99,058 93,568 99,643 91,792 Income before income taxes (i) 64,540 66,464 50,649 53,626 54,587 69,822 67,033 72,228 61,609 69,564 Income tax expense 13,020 13,020 9,348 9,348 7,642 7,642 7,021 7,021 10,721 10,721 plus: tax effect of adjustments 82 83 4,835 4,194 913 plus: after-tax impact of tax credit investments @ 21% 404 625 3,199 1,091 1,671 Total income tax expense (h) 13,020 13,506 9,348 10,056 7,642 15,676 7,021 12,306 10,721 13,305 Net income (a) 51,520$ 52,958$ 41,301$ 43,570$ 46,945$ 54,146$ 60,012$ 59,922$ 50,888$ 56,259$ Average diluted shares (b) 94,450 94,450 94,264 94,264 93,762 93,762 95,144 95,144 97,010 97,010 Average assets (c) 16,185,978 16,185,978 16,184,919 16,184,919 16,036,417 16,036,417 15,995,808 15,995,808 16,215,469 16,215,469 Average shareholders' equity 2,099,670 2,099,670 2,225,495 2,225,495 2,241,820 2,241,820 2,261,293 2,261,293 2,263,687 2,263,687 Less: Goodwill and other intangibles (1,100,312) (1,100,312) (1,103,271) (1,103,271) (1,009,459) (1,009,459) (1,010,300) (1,010,300) (1,012,010) (1,012,010) Average tangible equity (d) 999,358 999,358 1,122,224 1,122,224 1,232,361 1,232,361 1,250,993 1,250,993 1,251,677 1,251,677 Ratios Net earnings per share - diluted (a)/(b) 0.55$ 0.56$ 0.44$ 0.46$ 0.50$ 0.58$ 0.63$ 0.63$ 0.52$ 0.58$ Return on average assets - (a)/(c) 1.28% 1.31% 1.03% 1.09% 1.16% 1.34% 1.49% 1.49% 1.26% 1.39% Pre-tax, pre-provision return on average assets - ((a)+(j)+(h))/(c) 1.58% 1.63% 1.12% 1.20% 1.16% 1.54% 1.41% 1.54% 1.42% 1.62% Return on average tangible shareholders' equity - (a)/(d) 20.68% 21.26% 14.93% 15.75% 15.11% 17.43% 19.03% 19.00% 16.31% 18.03% Efficiency ratio - (e)/((f)+(g)) 61.8% 60.9% 69.6% 67.7% 70.1% 60.2% 63.5% 60.1% 63.5% 58.4% Effective tax rate - (h)/(i) 20.2% 20.3% 18.5% 18.8% 14.0% 22.5% 10.5% 17.0% 17.4% 19.1% (Dollars in thousands, except per share data) 2Q22 1Q22 4Q21 3Q21 2Q21

27 First Financial Bancorp First Financial Center 255 East Fifth Street Cincinnati, OH 45202


		By: /s/ James M. Anderson
		James M. Anderson
		Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Date:	July 21, 2022