8-K

UNITED STATES
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:  July 31, 1995

First Financial Bancorp
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Commission File Number: 0-12499

California (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

94-28222858
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

701 South Ham Lane, Lodi, California (Address of principal executive offices)

95242 (Zip Code)

(209) 367-2000 (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

NA (Former name or if changed since last report.)

ITEM 5.  OTHER EVENTS

CASH DIVIDEND

Please refer to Exhibit 99 which contains the First Financial Bancorp press
release regarding a cash dividend and earnings for the quarter ended 
June 30, 1995.

ITEM 7.  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS

Exhibits:
(99)  Press release dated July 31, 1995

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

Date July 31, 1995 /s/ David M. Philipp
David M. Philipp
Senior Vice-President & CFO
Corporate Secretary

EX-1

Exhibit 99 - Press Release
First Financial Bancorp and Bank of Lodi, NA

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
July 31, 1995
Contact Person:
Leon Zimmerman
Bank of Lodi, NA, President and CEO

First Financial Bancorp Declares Cash Dividend

Based upon the earnings for the second quarter of 1995, the First Financial
Bancorp Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $.05 per share,
payable August 30, 1995 to shareholders of record on August 15, 1995.  First
Financial Bancorp and it wholly owned subsidiary, Bank of Lodi, NA earned
$244,000, or $.19 per share for the quarter ended June 30, 1995.
The earnings represent an increase of 41% over the $173,000, or $.13 per
share, earned for the quarter ended June 30, 1994 and 4.3% over the $234,000, or
$.18 per share, earned for the quarter ended March 31, 1995.  Return on average
assets and average equity increased to .99% and 8.9%, respectively, compared
to .69% and 6.3%, respectively, for the comparable prior year quarter.

A 6.3% increase in net interest income over the prior year second quarter was
complemented by a 5.8% reduction in noninterest expenses.  Cost reductions
were centered in salary and benefit expenses and other administrative costs,
reflecting the lower level of current staffing and reduced usage of other
resources.  Noninterest expenses for the second quarter declined by 6.2%
compared to the first quarter of 1995, more than offsetting a 4.6% decline
in net interest income experienced in the same period.

Consolidated assets declined by approximately 6.8% from December 31, 1994.
The decline in assets is the result of a decline in deposits that has been
principally related to seasonal factors, although the general increases in
market interest rates over the past eighteen months have impacted the
investment decisions of depositors as well.  

The Bank of Lodi, NA began operations in Lodi in 1983 and now provides a
number of financial services to communities in the greater Lodi area through
branches in Lodi, Woodbridge, and Lockeford as well as small business and
mortgage lending departments in Lodi.
END