Treasury to Sell Tarp Stake in Eight More Banks

The Treasury Department plans to sell its stake in eight more institutions as it seeks to continue winding down the 5-year-old Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Treasury announced Wednesday that it will sell a total of $54 million of the eight banks' preferred shares in an auction set to begin on July 8 and will run through July 11.

In December, Treasury announced plans to wind down Tarp by auctioning its remaining preferred shares in roughly two-thirds of 218 the banks that were still in the program. It currently holds Tarp stakes in 142 banks, it said Wednesday.

The largest stakes to be auctioned are $10.7 million worth of preferred stock of Crosstown Holding Company in Blaine, Minn.; $10 million in ColoEast Bankshares in Lamar, Colo.; and $7.7 million in Commonwealth Business Bank in Los Angeles.

The other stakes up for auction are $6.7 million worth of shares in Fidelity Federal Bancorp in Evansville, Ind.; $6.5 million in Alarion Financial Services in Ocala, Fla.; $6.3 million in Premier Financial Corp. in Dubuque, Iowa; $3.3 million in Mountain Valley Bancshares in Cleveland, Ga.; and $2.8 million in Omega Capital Corp. in Lakewood, Colo.