EXHIBIT 23.1


                         CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS



The Board of Directors
First Financial Bancorp:

We consent to incorporation herein by reference in the registration statement on
Form S-8 of First Financial Bancorp of our report dated February 21, 1997,
relating to the consolidated balance sheets of First Financial Bancorp and
subsidiary as of December 31, 1996, and 1995, and the related consolidated
statements of income, shareholders' equity, and cash flows for each of the years
in the three-year period ended December 31, 1996, which report appears in the
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1996, of First
Financial Bancorp.


                                         /s/ KPMG Peat Marwick LLP



Sacramento, California
June 12, 1997

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