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Thursday, Mar. 28, 2024

First Financial buys Oak Street Holdings

First Financial Bank information

CINCINNATI — First Financial Bank is continuing to grow through acquisitions; the latest being the nationally recognized lender, Oak Street Holdings Corporation.

The Cincinnati-based bank has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Oak Street, which provides funding, lending and servicing to insurance agents and brokers throughout the United States.

“We view our partnership with Oak Street as a tremendous opportunity to expand and diversify our service offerings and also provide Oak Street’s team with the balance sheet and funding capacity necessary to continue to grow the business,” said Claude Davis, chairman and CEO of First Financial Bank. “We have experience and are very comfortable with nationwide specialty lending.

First Financial Bank logo-color-2-2014“Our franchise finance business has more than $500 million in loans and contributes significantly to our success,” he added. “We look forward to welcoming Oak Street’s associates and clients to First Financial.”

Oak Street has been an innovator in commission-based lending for insurance agents and agencies. Like First Financial, Oak Street provides custom-designed loans to ensure the success of each of their clients. The use of their internally developed technology and web-based reporting tools empowers their clients to maximize visibility, control and security over their asset portfolio.

The national lender will continue to operate under its Oak Street name upon completion of the deal due to the company’s thought leadership and proven performance, Davis said. Furthermore, the talented and experienced staff — currently in place — will continue to work for the lender, which has been named by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce as one of Indiana’s best places to work for three straight years.

“Oak Street’s client-centered approach aligns with the mission of First Financial; their clients can have the peace of mind that their relationship with Oak Street will not change,” Davis said. “With the partnership between First Financial and Oak Street, innovation focused on the success of each client will continue to strengthen and grow.”

Upon completion of the deal, Oak Street, which is based in Indianapolis and had $242 million in assets as of June 30, will become a subsidiary of First Financial Bank, with Oak Street’s current president and CEO, Rick Dennen, continuing in his current position.

“We are thrilled to become part of First Financial Bank, one of the most respected community banks in the country,” Dennen said. “Like Oak Street, First Financial has an entrepreneurial culture and a nimble organization that will provide a very supportive environment. We look forward to leveraging our combined strengths for continued growth in the future.”

The growth continues a trend for First Financial, the second-largest bank based in Cincinnati, as it officially entered the central Ohio market in 2014 after acquiring Columbus-area banks Guernsey Bancorp, Insight Bank and First Bexley Bank. Overall, the company converted five banking centers in connection to those acquisitions in the third and fourth quarters of 2014.

In addition, First Financial continued to show its commitment on improving its presence in Indiana by opening new retail banking centers in Avon, Bloomington and Fort Wayne in the first quarter of 2015. First Financial also completed an investment on its regional hub in the heart of downtown Fort Wayne earlier this year.

POSTED: 07/24/15 at 7:59 am. FILED UNDER: Business