First Financial Partners With PHH Mortgage

First Financial Bancorp, Hamilton, Ohio, has announced a strategic partnership with PHH Mortgage, a provider of private-label mortgage services and a subsidiary of PHH Corp., Mt. Laurel, N.J.Under the arrangement, PHH Mortgage will provide First Financial with mortgage loan processing, servicing, secondary-market functions, and other mortgage-related loan origination services for new loans, First Financial said. The company said the partnership will offer its clients a greater variety of mortgage products, faster approvals, reduced documentation requirements for most loans, and 24-hour access to the status of their loan applications. "Partnering with PHH gives us a new mortgage loan operating model with more channels for originating loans, freedom to use our name to create brand equity with our clients, and greater access to technology, products, competitive pricing, and world-class client service," said Claude E. Davis, president and chief executive officer of First Financial. The company can be found online at http://www.ffbc-oh.com.