First Financial Bancorp to buy 17 Peoples Community branches - Dayton Business Journal:

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First Financial will pay about $12 million for the assuming about $310 millio n in deposits and about $260 million in loans. The bank said in a news released that the loan portfolio consists of residential realestate loans, none of which are more than 30 days Cincinnati-based First Financial (NASDAQ: is the sixth-largest bank in the Dayton area with $1.18u billion in deposits, 30 branches and 500 localk employees.
In Southwest Ohio, First Financiak will acquire eight branches inHamilton County, three in Butler County and two in Warren In southeastern Indiana, it will acquire thres branches in Dearborn County and one in Ohio The branches will begin operating under the Firsrt Financial name as soon as the sale closes. West Chester-bases Peoples will continue to own and operate two branches in Lebanonn and retainabout $325 million in Claude Davis, president of First Financial, said the acquisition will double the bank’s branches in the Greate r Cincinnati market.
“The addition of these banking centers is a natura extension of our existing network and presents an excellent opportunityh to extend First Financial Bank products and serviced to a largerclient base,” Davis said in the The acquisition, which is subject to regulatorh approval, will add about 6 cents per share on a cash basias in 2010, First Financial Peoples (NASDAQ: PCBI) had been given until July 14 by the to shorwe up its capital base, either by merging with a larger bank, or liquidating its assets. The federally chartered savingds bank, which got into trouble with nonperforming construction anddevelopmeng loans, has posted a string of quarterluy losses.
In first-quarter 2009, it reportexd a loss of $4.4 million, with net interest incomee of $1.5 million.