First Financial Bancorp to Announce Second Quarter 2010 Financial Results on Tuesday, August 3, 2010

CINCINNATI, July 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- First Financial Bancorp ("First Financial" or the "Company") announced today that it expects to release second quarter 2010 financial results after the market close on Tuesday, August 3, 2010. A teleconference and webcast to discuss these results will be held on Wednesday, August 4, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time.

Teleconference and Webcast Information -------------------------------------- Date: Wednesday, August 4, 2010 Time: 9:00 a.m. Eastern time Teleconference Dial-In: 1-877-317-6789 (U.S. toll free) (Passcode not required) 1-866-605-3852 (Canada toll free) [phone] (International) Please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the start of the call Teleconference Replay: 1-877-344-7529 (U.S. toll free) (Passcode: 442890) [phone] (International) The teleconference replay will be available one hour after the live call has ended. Webcast: http://www.bankatfirst.com/investor The webcast will be available one hour after the live call has ended and will be archived at the Company's Archived Webcast: website for 12 months. About First Financial Bancorp

First Financial Bancorp is a Cincinnati, Ohio based bank holding company. As of March 31, 2010, the Company had $6.6 billion in assets, $4.6 billion in loans, $5.2 billion in deposits and $693 million in shareholders' equity. The Company's subsidiary, First Financial Bank, N.A., founded in 1863, provides banking and financial services products through its three lines of business: commercial, retail and wealth management. The commercial and retail units provide traditional banking services to business and consumer clients. The Wealth Resource Group provides financial planning, investment management, trust and estate, brokerage, insurance and retirement plan services and had approximately $2.3 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2010. The Company's strategic operating markets are located in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan where it operates 113 banking centers across 75 communities. Additional information about the Company, including its products, services and banking locations is available at http://www.bankatfirst.com/.

First Financial Bancorp

CONTACT: Investors/Analysts, Kenneth Lovik, Vice President, Investor
Relations and Corporate Development, [phone],
[e-mail]; or Media, Cheryl Lipp, First Vice President,
Communications Director, [phone], [e-mail]

Web Site: http://www.bankatfirst.com/