First Financial Bancorp to Announce Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2010 Financial Results on Wednesday, January 26, 2011

CINCINNATI, Jan. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- First Financial Bancorp ("First Financial" or the "Company") announced today that it expects to release fourth quarter and full year 2010 financial results after the market close on Wednesday, January 26, 2011. A teleconference and webcast to discuss these results will be held on Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time.

Teleconference and Webcast Information -------------------------------------- Date: Thursday, January 27, 2011 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) (Conf. number: 447697) [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 Archived Webcast: after the live call has ended and will be archived at the Company's website for 12 months. About First Financial Bancorp

First Financial Bancorp is a Cincinnati, Ohio based bank holding company. As of September 30, 2010, the Company had $6.2 billion in assets, $4.4 billion in loans, $5.1 billion in deposits and $691 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 First Financial Wealth Management provides wealth planning, portfolio management, trust and estate, brokerage and retirement plan services and had approximately $2.2 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2010. The company's strategic operating markets are located in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky where it operates 108 banking centers across 70 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,
Director of Communications, [phone], [e-mail]

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