CINCINNATI, Jan. 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- First
Financial Bancorp (Nasdaq: FFBC) announced that the board of
directors declared a 19-cent per
share quarterly cash dividend at their meeting on January 23, 2018. This represents an
increase of approximately 12% over the previous quarterly cash
dividend. Payable on March 15,
2018, the dividend will be distributed to shareholders of
record as of March 1, 2018.
Claude Davis, Chief Executive
Officer, commented, "As we mentioned during our fourth quarter
earnings call, the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
in late December was a significant positive for First Financial and
all of our stakeholders, and prompted evaluation of our dividend
policy and capital allocation strategies. This increase in
our dividend is consistent with our stated goal of consistently
providing strong shareholder returns while supporting planned
growth initiatives and maintaining target capital levels."
"In addition to the dividend increase, we will accelerate the
timing of our dividend payment in an effort to align dividend
practices in anticipation of our pending merger with MainSource
Financial Group."
First Financial Bancorp has paid a cash dividend every quarter
since the holding company was formed in April of 1983. The
Company's last dividend increase was in January of 2017.
About First Financial Bancorp
First Financial Bancorp
is a Cincinnati, Ohio based bank
holding company. As of December 31,
2017, the Company had $8.9
billion in assets, $6.0
billion in loans, $6.9 billion
in deposits and $930.7 million in
shareholders' equity. The Company's subsidiary, First Financial
Bank, founded in 1863, provides banking and financial services
products through its five lines of business: commercial, consumer,
wealth management, specialty finance and mortgage. The commercial,
consumer, specialty finance and mortgage units provide traditional
banking services to business and retail clients. First Financial
Wealth Management provides wealth planning, portfolio management,
trust and estate, brokerage and retirement plan services and had
approximately $2.7 billion in assets
under management as of December 31,
2017. The Company's strategic operating markets are located
in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky where it operates 94 banking centers.
Additional information about the Company, including its products,
services and banking locations is available at
www.bankatfirst.com.
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-financial-announces-12-increase-to-quarterly-dividend-300586689.html
SOURCE First Financial Bancorp.