Enterprise in Missouri Completes Tarp Exit

Enterprise Financial (EFSC) in St. Louis, Mo., has fully exited the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The $3.2 billion-asset company said Thursday that it had repurchased the warrants it issued to the Treasury Department as part of Tarp.  Enterprise said in a press release that it paid $1 million for the warrants for more than 324,000 shares of its common stock. The company's common stock closed at $13.45 a share on Wednesday.

In November, Enterprise repurchased $35 million in preferred stock that it had issued to the Treasury as part of Tarp. Enterprise said earlier in the year that it intended to leave the program by the end of 2012.

Enterprise received Tarp funds in December 2008 and had always planned to repay them before the interest rate increased to 9%, Jerry Mueller, a senior vice president at the company, said in an interview.  For now, the interest rate remains 5%.

"We're in a pretty strong liquidity position and we decided to go ahead and redeem the stock," Mueller said. "As part of those negotiations with the Treasury, we reached an agreement to repurchase the warrants at the end of last year, and we scheduled the closing for early this year."

Enterprise is considered well capitalized according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The company earned $6.6 million in the third quarter. Its capital to risk-weighted assets ratio stood at 14.1% at Sept. 30.