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First Banks, Inc. Announces Important Information Regarding the Consent Solicitation of First Preferred Capital Trust IV

^{Published on 2010-12-09 14:35:33 - Market Wire}
 

ST. LOUIS--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--First Banks, Inc. (the aCompanya), the holder of 100% of the outstanding common securities of First Preferred Capital Trust IV (NYSE: FBSPrA) (the aTrusta), announced today that it has recently distributed additional important information to each of the holders of the trust preferred securities of First Preferred Capital Trust IV in order to address common questions and provide notification of an unexpected issue that impacted over 200,000 shares and arose as a result of an invalid voting option being available on the [ www.proxyvote.com ] website under the heading aVote with the Boarda™s Recommendations.a Consequently, unless holders who selected this erroneously included option re-submit their consent, their shares will not be counted.

The consent solicitation was previously scheduled to expire on November 19, 2010 at 5:00 p.m., New York City time and has been extended until January 21, 2011, 5:00 p.m. New York City time, in order to give the holders of the Trusta™s trust preferred securities adequate time and opportunity to evaluate the proposed amendments and submit their response. As of the time of this release, holders of approximately 771,000 of the 1,840,000 outstanding trust preferred securities of the Trust, representing nearly 42%, have responded to the solicitation, and of the total amount, nearly 77% have approved the consent. These totals do not include the shares of holders who selected the erroneously included aVote with the Boarda™s Recommendationsa option on the voting website.

As discussed in the Consent Solicitation Statement, dated October 15, 2010, the Company is soliciting the consent of holders of the preferred securities of the Trust to certain amendments of the Indenture, Trust Agreement and Guarantee Agreement underlying such securities to increase the Companya™s capital planning flexibility under those documents and the provisions of the indentures, trust agreements and guarantee agreements relating to the Companya™s other tranches of trust preferred securities. Holders may contact the Company toll-free at (888) 689-9257 with any questions regarding the consent solicitation.

This press release is for informational purposes only and shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of the Companya™s securities.

About First Banks

First Banks had assets of $7.89 billion at September 30, 2010 and currently operates 154 branch banking offices in California, Florida, Illinois and Missouri. 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 ].

Important Additional Information

In connection with the consent solicitation, on October 18, 2010, the Company filed a Consent Solicitation Statement, dated October 15, 2010, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the aSECa) as Exhibit 99.1 to a Current Report on Form 8-K, and on October 18, 2010, mailed the Consent Solicitation Statement and Letter of Consent to each holder entitled to consent to the proposed amendments. Holders are urged to read the Consent Solicitation Statement, the Letter of Consent and any supplements or other relevant documents when they become available because they contain important information. The Consent Solicitation Statement, supplements and other documents (when available) may be obtained free of charge from the SECa™s website at [ http://www.sec.gov ]. These documents may also be obtained free of charge from D.F. King & Co., Inc., 48 Wall Street, 22nd Floor, New York, NY 10005 (Banks and Brokerage Firms, Please Call: (212) 269-5550; All Others Call Toll-free: (800) 290-6426).

The Company and its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the consent solicitation. Information regarding the interests of the directors and executive officers of the Company in the solicitation is more specifically set forth in the Consent Solicitation Statement.