Banking on You Featuring First Financial Bank

For over 160 years, First Financial Bank has made it their mission to be a positive influence on their community, and help their clients thrive in everything that they do.

Jeff Metzger’s dream started with a handstand in his backyard. As a young boy in Cincinnati, Ohio, Jeff spent countless hours honing his skills in the gym, dreaming of one day opening a gymnastics facility where children could learn, grow, and embrace the joy of physical activity. This dream stayed with him throughout his life, and it grew into a family of companies called Kids First. Kids First facilities include Kids First Sports Center, which hosts special events, sports camps, recreational classes, and is home to several competitive youth sports teams. KF Village includes educational classes, before- and after-school care, literacy programs, and more. And most recently, The Campus at Kids First was built to integrate traditional academics with physical education, striving to teach children how to think – specifically, independent thinking, problem solving and decision-making.

Then in 2020, everything changed with the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused revenue to drop to zero. “That was a quite a scary time,” Jeff admitted. “I felt so fortunate having a bank like First Financial who kept me apprised of daily changes and PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) updates. Our entire industry was in the dark, but I wasn't in the dark, because of First Financial Bank. They were there every step of the way.” 

In 2024, the company added a 21,000 square-foot facility as its new home for The Campus at Kids First. This early learning center includes 14 classrooms, serving children from infants through pre-kindergarten. The Campus at Kids First can now provide an integrated program of traditional academics and daily physical education classes for hundreds of children in the Greater Cincinnati community. Thanks in part to First Financial Bank, Jeff’s business recovered and has now been a part of the community for over 50 years. 

For First Financial Bank, an important part of being part of the local community is making investments in their neighbors. They team up with local partners like the Cincinnati Minority Business Accelerator, for greater development opportunities for Cincinnati’s minority businesses. In 2024, the First Financial Foundation gave $2.4 million in donations throughout its four-state footprint, supporting programs and organizations that promote neighborhood development, workforce development and education, as well as culture and the arts. Additionally, First Financial is committed to supporting minority-owned business enterprises, women-owned business enterprises , disability-owned business enterprises and veteran owned businesses as part of its annual vendor spend.

First Financial Bank also issues microloans to small businesses and startups, providing much needed access to capital for those that may not qualify for traditional credit products. In 2024, First Financial announced a five-year, $2.4 billion Community Benefits Agreement with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and related partner organizations, establishing goals for lending and investments to low- and moderate-income clients and census tracts. This includes goals of $600 million in small business lending through support of small business development corporations and business incubators, and through the issuance of microloans. The new agreement follows the successful conclusion of First Financial’s previous CBA, during which they achieved 192 percent of their $1.75 billion goal in lending and investments for 2018- 2023.

This year, First Financial received the 2025 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award for employee engagement. Only 62 organizations were selected for the Gallup award, which recognizes the most engaged workplace cultures in the world.

Whether it’s through loans, local investments, or charitable donations, First Financial Bank is committed to putting their customers first.