First Financial Bank to open Northern Kentucky headquarters in Covington

Feb. 4, 2020 – First Financial Bancorp. (Nasdaq: FFBC)  announced today that it will grow its “next-generation” banking concept with the new First Financial Bank 6th & Madison Innovation Center, its headquarters site for the Northern Kentucky market, planned to open in downtown Covington in late 2020.

“Our 6th & Madison Innovation Center will serve as a hub for economic activity as we enable other businesses to expand and bring more jobs to Northern Kentucky,” said Archie Brown, Jr., president and CEO of First Financial Bank. “We’re focused on being deeply woven into the community, and this new headquarters site will help us to be an even greater catalyst for growth here.”

6th & Madison will be a welcoming community center, offering spaces that are both publicly accessible and technologically equipped. Guests will have access to free Wi-Fi, a free coffee bar, multiple open seating and meeting areas, two reservable conference rooms, and on the second floor, nearly 1,000 square feet of event space available for public use. The bank will provide office space for its employees on the third and fourth floors of the building, located at 601 Madison Ave.

“It’s exciting to welcome First Financial Bancorp. to Covington’s urban core, and we can’t wait for this project to be finished and them to start operations,” said Covington Mayor Joe Meyer. “We’re well aware of First Financial’s work supporting development in this region, and its physical presence at Madison Avenue and Sixth Street will further solidify this intersection of Covington as the financial center of Northern Kentucky.”

This new facility represents the bank’s latest investment in Northern Kentucky’s urban core. Other significant projects in the region supported by First Financial funding include the development of Hotel Covington, Duveneck Apartments in Covington, John R. Green Lofts in Mainstrasse, Newport’s Ovation music venue, the Manhattan Harbor Apartments in Dayton, Kentucky, and Kent Lofts in Bellevue.

“First Financial Bank is proud to be a significant financial partner for so many projects involved in the revitalization of Northern Kentucky,” said Jacob Holbrook, First Financial Bank’s Northern Kentucky market president, who was born, raised and currently resides in Northern Kentucky. “The bank’s redevelopment of the 6th & Madison building continues the incredible momentum we are a part of in Covington and throughout Northern Kentucky.”

The 6th & Madison Innovation Center will offer significant financial education opportunities to help individuals and business leaders improve their financial health. Resources will be available both in person and via self-serve technology options.

First Financial Bank’s initial “next-generation” banking site, the 4th & Vine Innovation Center in downtown Cincinnati, has been providing a full calendar of financial education programs and community events since opening in August 2019. More information on events and other amenities can be found here.

Design work is currently underway for 6th & Madison, with construction expected to begin in the spring.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp. is a Cincinnati, Ohio based bank holding company. As of September 30, 2020, the Company had $15.9 billion in assets, $10.2 billion in loans, $11.6 billion in deposits and $2.2 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 $2.8 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2020. The Company operated 143 full service banking centers as of September 30, 2020, primarily in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, 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.