First Community in Ill. Redeems $7.3M Worth of Tarp Shares

First Community Financial Partners in Joliet, Ill., has repurchased a large chunk of shares from private investors that acquired the shares from the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The $834 million-asset company paid approximately $5.3 million to retire Tarp shares that had a face value of $7.3 million, it announced Monday. First Community received $22 million through the Tarp program in December 2009, and the Treasury Department auctioned the shares for about $18.3 million in September 2012. The company has now retired all but $5.2 million worth of the shares, it said.

In order to fund the repurchase, First Community issued $5.5 million worth of debt to one of the investors, EJF Capital, and to First Community officers and directors. The new debt pays about 8.6% interest.

"We continue to look for opportunities to enhance the value of our shareholders' investment in First Community," said Roy Thygesen, First Community chief executive, in a news release. "The substantial shareholder gains realized through the transactions…are a product of this initiative."

Last year, First Community consolidated four banks into a single charter, First Community Financial Bank.