First Financial Receives Regulatory Approval To Acquire BankFinancial, Closing Expected January 1, 2026

• First Financial Bancorp. ("First Financial") secured regulatory approval of its announced acquisition of Chicago-based BankFinancial Corporation ("BankFinancial").
• Closing is anticipated to take place on or around January 1, 2026.

CINCINNATI, Dec. 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- First Financial (NASDAQ:FFBC) announced that it received regulatory approval from the Federal Reserve and the Ohio Department of Financial Institutions to complete its previously announced acquisition of BankFinancial. Closing is anticipated to take place on or around January 1, 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and approval by BankFinancial shareholders.

In August 2025, First Financial announced the acquisition of BankFinancial in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $142 million as of the date of the merger agreement.

More information on the transition is available at bankatfirst.com.