FFBC vs FRME: Correlation
First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC) and First Merchants Corporation (FRME) show a very strong relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.91.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are FFBC and FRME?
On 3 years of weekly data the FFBC/FRME correlation comes out at 0.91, very strong, meaning they move nearly in lockstep. Little has changed lately, as the 1-year reading of 0.87 lands near the 3-year figure. The 5-year figure is 0.87, and annualized covariance runs at 757.8 %².
Few assets follow FFBC as closely as FRME, which ranks #1 of 31 tracked partners. Their recent paths diverged sharply: over the last 12 months FFBC outperformed by 23.2 percentage points (+26.7% for FFBC against +3.5% for FRME).
How is this computed?
Pearson correlation on weekly returns: ρ(A,B) = cov(rA, rB) / (σA · σB), over windows of 52, 156 and 260 weeks. Covariance is annualized (×52) and expressed in %². Full definitions on the methodology page.
FFBC vs FRME: side by side
| FFBC (First Financial Bancorp.) | FRME (First Merchants Corporation) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +26.7% | +3.5% |
| 5-year return | +69.6% | +22.0% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 28.0% | 29.8% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.81 | 0.78 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -26.1% | -23.9% |
| Market cap | $3.4B | $2.6B |
| P/E (trailing) | 11.6 | 13.4 |
| Dividend yield | 3.05% | 3.48% |
| Sector / category | US Listed | US Listed |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | FFBC | FRME |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +3.4% | +1.1% |
| 2023 | +2.4% | -5.8% |
| 2024 | +17.6% | +11.8% |
| 2025 | -3.3% | -2.5% |
| 2026 | +33.1% | +13.3% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are FFBC and FRME good diversifiers for each other?
No. With a correlation of 0.91, FFBC and FRME move nearly in lockstep, so holding both adds very little diversification.
FAQ
What is the correlation between FFBC and FRME?
The FFBC/FRME correlation stands at 0.91 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.87, 5 years: 0.87), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is FRME a good diversifier for FFBC?
No. With a correlation of 0.91, FFBC and FRME move nearly in lockstep, so holding both adds very little diversification.
What does a correlation of 0.91 mean?
Correlation ranges from −1 to +1. Values near +1 mean two assets move together, near 0 that they move independently, and negative values that they tend to move in opposite directions. It measures co-movement, not performance.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/ffbc-vs-frme.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/ffbc-vs-frme/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: FFBC correlations · FRME correlations
