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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
Form 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): June 23, 1997
First Financial Bancorp, Inc.
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(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware 0-22394 36-3899034
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(State or other (Commission File No.) (I.R.S. Employer
jurisdiction of Identification No.)
of incorporation)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (815) 544-3167
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Not Applicable
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(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
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Item 5. Other Events
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On June 23, 1997, the Registrant announced its plans to restructure the
Company's balance sheet. The text of the press release is attached as
Exhibit 1.
Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits
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(a) Exhibits
1. Press Release, dated June 23, 1997.
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Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, hereunto duly authorized.
FIRST FINANCIAL BANCORP, INC.
DATE: June 23, 1997 By: /c/ Steven C. Derr
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Steven C. Derr, President
and Chief Executive Officer
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EXHIBIT 1
Press Release
dated June 23, 1997
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NEWS RELEASE
Date: June 23, 1997
From: First Financial Bancorp, Inc. Contact: Steven C. Derr
121 East Locust Street President and Chief
Belvidere, IL 61008 Executive Officer
Holding Company for: (815) 544-3167
First Federal Savings Bank
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
FIRST FINANCIAL BANCORP, INC.,
ANNOUNCES BALANCE SHEET RESTRUCTURING PLAN
Belvidere, Illinois - June 23, 1997. First Financial Bancorp, Inc. ("FFBI")
announced today its plans to restructure the Company's balance sheet. In
conjunction with this restructuring plan, the Company will realize an estimated
charge of $280,000, net of tax, or $0.67 per share during the quarter ended June
30, 1997 subject to market conditions. The charge includes losses taken on the
sale of approximately $20.0 million fixed rate first mortgage loans from its
portfolio as well as available for sale mortgage-backed securities and
collateralized mortgage obligations with a market value of $8.0 million. The
impact on book value per share is estimated to be $0.28 per share as the loss on
the mortgage-related securities available for sale was previously included as a
separate component of equity under Statement of Financial Accounting Standards
115, ACCOUNTING FOR CERTAIN INVESTMENTS IN DEBT AND EQUITY INSTRUMENTS. The
proceeds of the sales may be utilized for the repayment of certain advances with
the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago and investment in short term liquid
securities to be redeployed into a more diverse mixture of lending products.
Following the restructuring, the Company's subsidiary Bank will remain well
capitalized with an anticipated core capital ratio in excess of 8.00%.
The decision to restructure the Company's portfolio was made as a result of
several factors. The foremost reason for the plan is to reduce the Company's
exposure rising market interest rate, based on the Company's asset liability
model and regulatory models. The Company also anticipates the balance sheet
restructuring and the redeployment of cash proceeds will improve the Company's
net interest margin to levels more in line with its peers through the
redeployment process. Finally, the depth and diversity of lending experience
the Bank has acquired in recent quarters along with changes in thrift
regulations are anticipated to allow the Company to knowledgeably diversify
the balance sheet from its concentration in commodity-type mortgage-related
products to other fields of lending with better yields and interest rate
sensitivity.
First Financial Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for First Federal Savings
Bank which has two full service offices in Belvidere, Illinois. First Federal
has served the Belvidere area for 75 years since opening in 1922. First
Financial Bancorp, Inc. is traded on the Nasdaq Small Cap Market under the
symbol FFBI.
This announcement contains forward looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and
uncertainties, including interest rate risk, credit risk, economic risks, and
other factors described from time to time in the Company's publicly available
filings. Such risks could cause the actual results to differ materially.
