ST. LOUIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–First Bank, a Missouri state-chartered bank and wholly owned subsidiary of First Banks, Inc. (“First Banks” or the “Company”)(NYSE: FBSPrA), headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, today announced completion of the sale of certain assets and the transfer of certain liabilities of its Chicago franchise to FirstMerit Bank, N.A., a subsidiary of FirstMerit Corporation, headquartered in Akron, Ohio (“FirstMerit”).
Under the terms of the agreement, FirstMerit assumed approximately $1.20 billion of deposits associated with First Bank’s 24 Chicago retail branches, including certain commercial deposit relationships, for a premium of 3.5%, or approximately $42.0 million. FirstMerit also purchased over $300.0 million of loans as well as certain other assets, including premises and equipment, associated with First Bank’s Chicago operations.
Terrance M. McCarthy, President and Chief Executive Officer of First Banks, said, “The sale of our Chicago franchise represents another important part of our capital optimization initiatives and will generate a regulatory capital benefit of approximately $70.0 million.” Mr. McCarthy continued, “We would like to thank our Chicago based employees for their dedication and hard work and our customers for allowing us the opportunity to serve their business needs. We are confident our customers and employees will be well served by joining the FirstMerit organization as it enters the Chicago market place.”
About First Banks
First Banks had assets of $10.58 billion at December 31, 2009 and currently operates 184 branch banking offices in California, Florida, Illinois, Missouri and Texas. Through its subsidiary bank, First Bank, the Company offers a broad range of financial products and services to consumers, businesses and other institutions. Visit First Banks on the web at www.firstbanks.com.
