Treasury to Gain $66 Million from Tarp Auction

The Treasury Department expects to receive roughly $66 million from a recent auction of stakes it owns in seven banks from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Treasury will receive the largest sum—$26.5 million—from bids on its sale of 24,000 shares in Eastern Virginia BankShares (EVBS) in Tappahannock, Va. The shares were priced at $1,104 per share. Additionally, the department received bids worth $21.3 million from the sale of 21,750 shares in Blue Valley Ban Corp. in Overland Park, Kan. The stock was priced at $978 per share.

Treasury had planned to auction stakes worth $17.3 million in Liberty Shares in in Hinesville, Ga., but did not receive sufficient bids above the minimum prices. It sold roughly 81% of its remaining shares in Centrue Financial Corp. in Ottawa, Ill.

Treasury also received bids for shares in Bank of George in Las Vegas; Oregon Bancorp in Salem, Ore.; Spirit BankCorp in Bristow, Okla.; and Valley Community Bank in Pleasanton, Calif.

The auction, which began this week and is expected to close Oct. 21, is part of Treasury's strategy to wind down its remaining bank investments from Tarp. It is offering shares to institutional investors, entities with $25 million or more in assets and directors and officers of the banks that issued them.

"During the financial crisis, TARP played a critical role in stabilizing the economy," Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability Timothy Massad said in a Friday press release. "Today's auctions are part of our ongoing efforts to wind down the bank programs, which have already earned a significant gain for American taxpayers."

The Treasury invested an initial $245 billion in Tarp and has since recovered more than $273 billion through repayments, dividends, interest and other income, according to the release.