May 19, 2009 (FinancialWire) — First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ: FFBC) has launched a public offering of $100 million of common shares through Sandler O’Neill & Partners and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, as representatives of the underwriters.

The company plans to grant the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the common shares sold to cover over-allotments.

Cincinnati, Ohio-based First Financial Bancorp is a bank holding company whose banking subsidiary, First Financial Bank, N.A., provides retail and commercial banking products and services, and investment and insurance products through its 82 retail banking locations in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.

The bank’s wealth management division provides investment management, traditional trust, brokerage, private banking, and insurance services, and has around $1.6 billion of posted assets under management.

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