A 163-year-old Cincinnati acquirer that struck three deals in 13 months and converted two of them inside a year, whose technology record is integration and fraud education rather than a disclosed AI programme.
How is First Financial Bank using AI?
First Financial Bancorp, the Cincinnati parent of First Financial Bank with about $22 billion of assets and 151 banking centres across Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois, spent 2025 and 2026 buying and integrating. CEO Archie Brown, who went seven years without a deal, engineered three in 13 months: Westfield Bancorp near Cleveland for $325 million in cash and stock (June 2025), BankFinancial in Chicago for $142 million in stock (August 2025, closed January 2026, systems converted in June 2026) and Finward Bancorp, parent of Peoples Bank in Munster, Indiana, for about $208 million in stock (July 2026), which will give the bank $4.1 billion of deposits and more than 40 branches in Chicagoland. Brown said the Chicago deals 'will give us opportunities to hold some more conversations' but that 'if this is where we've landed, it's big enough'. Second-quarter 2026 net income was $76.5 million, or $0.73 per diluted share, with record adjusted earnings of $83.9 million ($0.80), an adjusted efficiency ratio of 56.8% and an 18.0% return on tangible common equity, though adjusted fee income fell short of expectations after a record first quarter in wealth management and leasing; virtually all Westfield cost savings had been realised by 30 June and BankFinancial's were to phase in during the third quarter. On AI the bank speaks to clients rather than about itself: its 2026 annual fraud checklist tells businesses to train staff on 'current fraud trends, such as AI deepfakes and social engineering', and its commercial fraud hub offers risk-management guides. Neither the earnings calls nor the releases mention an AI programme, leader, vendor or budget. Two other records go further. At a 2025 client seminar on fraud in the age of AI, chief information security officer Lance Murray said 'We are building our AI strategy', and explained that his team had blocked organisational device access to any open AI site while it did the analysis. And the 2025 10-K, filed in February 2026, carries a stand-alone risk factor on the use of 'AI, Generative AI, large language models (LLMs), and AI agents by customers, vendors and competitors', says the bank asks vendors in due diligence how they use these tools, and warns that implementing them can bring 'data leakage, model bias, decision errors, regulatory non-compliance, or ineffective governance'. In September 2026 the bank reorganised its top team for succession: CFO Jamie Anderson became president, and Malcolm Myers, chief information officer from 2018 and chief transformation and delivery officer since 2022, became chief operating officer. First Financial Bank is an Ohio state member bank supervised by the Federal Reserve. Treat this as a thin record for a bank whose technology capacity is consumed by conversions.
Lead bank
First Financial Bank
Assets (lead bank, Mar 31, 2026)
$23 billion
Charter
Ohio state member bank (Federal Reserve)
Headquarters
Cincinnati, OH
AI leadership
Archie Brown · Jamie Anderson · Malcolm Myers · Lance Murray
- No AI programme, leader, vendor or budget disclosed; earnings calls and releases are silent on AI.
- Three acquisitions in 13 months: Westfield Bancorp ($325 million), BankFinancial ($142 million, converted June 2026) and Finward Bancorp (about $208 million, announced July 2026).
- Post-Finward Chicagoland presence: $4.1 billion of deposits and more than 40 branches.
- Q2 2026 net income $76.5 million ($0.73 per share); record adjusted net income $83.9 million ($0.80); adjusted efficiency ratio 56.8%; ROTCE 18.0%; adjusted fee income below expectations.
- Client AI content is defensive: the 2026 fraud checklist flags AI deepfakes and social engineering.
- CEO Archie Brown: 'if this is where we've landed, it's big enough', with integration the near-term priority.
- AI strategy in progress, per the CISO: 'We are building our AI strategy' (2025 client seminar), with open AI sites blocked on bank devices while the analysis ran.
- 2025 10-K: a dedicated risk factor on AI, generative AI, LLMs and AI agents used by customers, vendors and competitors; vendors are asked in due diligence how they use these tools.
- September 2026 reshuffle: Jamie Anderson president (and still CFO); former CIO Malcolm Myers chief operating officer; Archie Brown remains CEO.
- Conversions: Westfield in March 2026, BankFinancial on 8 June 2026; Finward expected to close around year-end.
What has First Financial Bank done on AI, and when?
- Sep 14, 2026
- Jul 22, 2026
Q2 2026 call: record adjusted earnings; Finward to close around year-end[12]
Adjusted net income $83.9 million ($0.80); 7% annualized loan growth; Westfield savings realised by 30 June, BankFinancial savings phasing in during the third quarter.
- Jul 21, 2026
- Jun 8, 2026
BankFinancial systems converted[11]
Operating systems converted and Chicagoland branches rebranded First Financial Bank; $1 million committed to the First Financial Foundation for the area.
- Apr 27, 2026
Q1 2026 call: Westfield converted, BankFinancial closed[10]
Adjusted EPS $0.77; record wealth management and leasing income; an $8.9 million bargain-purchase gain on BankFinancial.
- Apr 23, 2026
First-quarter 2026 results[4]
Net income $74.4 million; $0.71 per share; BankFinancial closed on 1 January.
- Feb 19, 2026
2025 10-K: stand-alone AI risk factor[9]
AI, generative AI, LLMs and AI agents used by customers, vendors and competitors raise fraud, cyber and competitive risk; implementing them can bring data leakage, model bias and decision errors; vendors are asked how they use these tools.
- Jan 29, 2026
Q4 2025 call: record fee income; conversions set for March and June[8]
Adjusted EPS $0.80; adjusted fee income $77.3 million, the highest in company history; Westfield to convert in March and BankFinancial in June.
- Jan 8, 2026
2026 annual fraud checklist[3]
Businesses told to train staff on AI deepfakes and social engineering.
- Jan 1, 2026
- Oct 24, 2025
Q3 2025 call: record revenue; efficiency work 90% done[7]
Adjusted EPS $0.76 and adjusted ROTCE 19.3%; the CEO said the bank was 90% through its efficiency efforts, with expense reductions to come from the acquisitions.
- Aug 11, 2025
BankFinancial acquisition announced[2]
$142 million in stock; bigger Chicago presence.
- Aug 8, 2025
CISO: 'We are building our AI strategy'[6]
At the bank's 'Fraud in the Age of AI' client seminar (with a live deepfake demonstration), CISO Lance Murray described associates' eagerness to adopt AI and said open AI sites were blocked on bank devices while his team built the strategy.
- Jun 23, 2025
Westfield Bancorp acquisition announced[1]
$325 million in cash and stock; northeast Ohio expansion.
Where does First Financial Bank use AI today?
| System | What it does | Status | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial acquisition conversions[15][5][10] | Westfield converted in March 2026, with its cost savings virtually all realised by 30 June; BankFinancial converted in June 2026, with savings phasing in during the third quarter; Finward next. | In production | Third-party & vendor AI |
| Commercial fraud education including AI deepfakes[3] | Annual checklist and commercial fraud hub for business clients. | In production | Fraud detection |
| No disclosed AI deployment[5] | No AI reference in investor materials. | Announced | AI governance (general) |
| AI strategy under construction; open AI sites blocked[6] | The CISO's team is building the AI strategy by asking for each proposal the business case, the use case, who manages it and where the data goes, with organisational device access to open AI sites blocked meanwhile. | Announced | AI governance (general) |
| AI risk-factor disclosure[9] | A stand-alone 10-K risk factor on AI, generative AI, LLMs and AI agents, plus AI in the technology risk factor: data leakage, model bias, decision errors, regulatory non-compliance and ineffective governance. | In production | Model risk management |
| Vendor AI due diligence[9] | In vendor due diligence the bank requests detailed information on how the vendor uses AI tools and seeks to limit exposure by contract. | In production | Third-party & vendor AI |
Use-case links open the tracker's rules-by-use-case matrix: which documents govern each system type.
What has First Financial Bank disclosed in numbers?
| Metric | Value | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 net income / diluted EPS | $76.5 million / $0.73[5] | Jul 21, 2026 |
| Adjusted efficiency ratio / ROTCE, Q2 2026 | 56.8% / 18.0%[5] | Jul 21, 2026 |
| Finward Bancorp acquisition | ≈ $208 million in stock; $2 billion assets[15] | Jul 21, 2026 |
| Chicagoland after Finward | $4.1 billion deposits; 40+ branches[15] | Jul 22, 2026 |
| Q2 2026 adjusted net income / EPS / ROTCE | $83.9 million / $0.80 / 19.7%[12] | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Adjusted fee income, Q4 2025 (company record) | $77.3 million[8] | Dec 31, 2025 |
“We think there's more to do, but I think if this is where we've landed, it's big enough.”[15]
Archie Brown · President and CEO · Jul 22, 2026
“We are building our AI strategy. We are asking ourselves, 'What will be the business case, the use case? Who is going to manage it? Where is the data going?'”[6]
Lance Murray · Chief Information Security Officer · Aug 8, 2025
“I think we had a pretty flat organization. We just realized we've got to have some of these responsibilities shared with more of the executives.”[14]
Archie Brown · Chief Executive Officer · Sep 22, 2026
Who runs AI at First Financial Bank?
Jamie AndersonLinkedIn ↗
President and Chief Financial Officer (from September 2026; previously CFO and COO)[5][13][14]
Malcolm MyersLinkedIn ↗
Chief Operating Officer (from September 2026); Chief Transformation and Delivery Officer 2022–2026; Chief Information Officer 2018–2022[13]
Lance MurrayLinkedIn ↗
Chief Information Security Officer[6]
What AI roles is First Financial Bank hiring for?
No open AI-titled postings on First Financial Bank's careers site as of Sep 24, 2026. A snapshot of current openings, not a source: postings close.
Which regulators govern First Financial Bank's AI?
| Authority | Why it matters here | Documents |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Reserve | First Financial Bank is a state member bank; Fed model-risk and third-party guidance govern conversions and any AI adoption. | SR 11-7 SR 23-4 |
| CFPB | Consumer and small-business products bring adverse-action and UDAAP duties to any automated decisioning. | ECOA / Regulation B adverse action (15 U.S.C. 1691(d); 12 CFR 1002.9) |
| FDIC | Deposit-insurance supervision and interagency third-party guidance apply to vendor platforms across acquired banks. | FDIC FIL-29-2023 |
Side by side: SR 11-7 vs SR 26-2 · PRA SS1/23 vs SR 26-2 · OCC vs CFPB on AI lending · all comparisons.
What does the public record suggest about First Financial Bank's AI strategy?
Analysis by BankingNewsAI from the sources cited on this page. Observations, not advice.
01
Three conversions in a year is the technology story
Integration discipline at this pace is rare; it is also why no AI programme has surfaced, and the pause after Finward is the window.
02
Fee businesses are where AI would show
Wealth, client-derivative and leasing businesses, which set records in early 2026, are data-rich lines where analytics pay before core banking does.
03
Fraud guidance to clients invites fraud tooling
Warning clients about AI deepfakes while disclosing no detection capability is a gap peers are closing.
04
Acquired banks bring acquired models
A consolidated model inventory across Westfield, BankFinancial and Finward will be an exam expectation.
Does First Financial Bank use AI?
First Financial Bancorp has not disclosed an AI programme, leader, vendor or budget. Its AI-related content is client education, including a 2026 fraud checklist that warns businesses about AI deepfakes and social engineering. Its chief information security officer, Lance Murray, told a 2025 client seminar that the bank was 'building our AI strategy' and had blocked open AI sites on its devices meanwhile, and its 2025 10-K carries a stand-alone AI risk factor and describes asking vendors how they use AI tools.
Who runs technology at First Financial Bank?
Malcolm Myers, chief information officer from 2018 to 2022 and chief transformation and delivery officer from February 2022, became chief operating officer on 14 September 2026. Cybersecurity is overseen by chief information security officer Lance Murray, who has spoken publicly about the bank's AI strategy. Jamie Anderson became president (keeping the CFO title) on the same day; Archie Brown remains CEO.
What acquisitions has First Financial made?
Three in 13 months: Westfield Bancorp near Cleveland for $325 million, BankFinancial in Chicago for $142 million (closed January 2026, converted June 2026) and Finward Bancorp, parent of Peoples Bank in Munster, Indiana, for about $208 million in stock, announced July 2026.
- First Financial Bancorp to acquire Ohio bank in $325M deal
- Ohio's First Financial strikes deal to get bigger in Chicago
- 2026 Annual Fraud Checklist
- First Financial Bancorp Announces First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
- First Financial Bancorp Announces Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results, Quarterly Dividend Increase & Acquisition of Finward Bancorp
- Fighting fraud in the age of AI: A First Financial Bank seminar
- First Financial Bancorp (FFBC) Q3 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Record Revenue and Strategic ...
- First Financial Bancorp. Q4 Earnings Call Highlights
- First Financial Bancorp. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025
- First Financial Bancorp. Q1 Earnings Call Highlights
- First Financial Completes Conversion of BankFinancial
- First Financial Bancorp. Q2 Earnings Call Highlights
- First Financial Bancorp. Form 8-K (Item 5.02: appointment of President, Chief Banking Officer and Chief Operating Officer)
- After year of rapid growth, Ohio bank revamps its top ranks
- Cincinnati's First Financial strikes third deal in 13 months
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