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Exhibit 99.1 fIRST first financial bancorp First Financial Bancorp Announces First Quarter 2021 Financial Results Earnings per diluted share of $ 0.48 ; $ 0.50 on an adjusted ( ¹ ) basis Return on average assets of 1.20 % ; 1.24 % as adjusted ( 1 ) Net interest margin FTE ( ¹ ) of 3.40 % Provision for credit losses of $ 4.0 million ; $ 7.5 million decline from linked quarter Repurchased 840,115 shares during the quarter Cincinnati , Ohio - April 22 , 2021 First Financial Bancorp . ( Nasdaq : FFBC ) ( " First Financial " or the " Company " ) announced financial results for the three months ended March 31 , 2021 . For the three months ended March 31 , 2021 , the Company reported net income of $ 47.3 million , or $ 0.48 per diluted common share . These results compare to net income of $ 48.3 million , or $ 0.49 per diluted common share , for the fourth quarter of 2020 and $ 28.6 million , or $ 0.29 per diluted common share , for the first quarter of 2020 . Return on average assets for the first quarter of 2021 was 1.20 % while return on average tangible common equity was 15.24 % . These compare to returns on average assets of 1.20 % and 0.79 % , and returns on average tangible common equity of 15.50 % and 9.71 % , in the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2020 , respectively . First quarter 2021 highlights include : • After adjustments ( 1 ) for certain nonrecurring items : Net income of $ 0.50 per diluted common share 1.24 % return on average assets 15.80 % return on average tangible common equity Net interest margin of 3.40 % on a fully tax - equivalent basis ( ¹ ) in line with expectations 0 9 basis point reduction from linked quarter driven by fewer fees related to loan prepayments , and lower volume of PPP forgiveness Noninterest income of $ 40.3 million , or $ 40.2 million as adjusted ( 1 ) Foreign exchange income of $ 10.8 million remains strong despite decline from record fourth quarter Mortgage income of $ 9.5 million in line with expectations given expected seasonal declines and lower premiums Noninterest expenses of $ 92.5 million , or $ 90.0 million as adjusted ( 1 ) Adjustments ( ¹ ) include : $ 1.3 million of severance related costs $ 1.3 million of other nonrecurring costs such as branch consolidation costs Efficiency ratio of 60.0 % ; 58.4 % as adjusted ( 1 ) Excluding PPP growth , loan balances declined slightly during the quarter driven primarily by a decline in consumer and mortgage loans Average transactional deposit balances grew $ 523.7 million compared to the linked quarter ; 21.1 % on an annualized basis ( 1 ) Financial information in this release that is described as " adjusted " or that is presented on a fully tax equivalent basis is non - GAAP . 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 . 1