Note 7 - Senior and Subordinated Debt

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2012

Debt Disclosure [Text Block]

7.  SENIOR AND SUBORDINATED DEBT

The following table presents the Company’s senior and subordinated debt by issuance.

Senior and Subordinated Debt

(Dollar amounts in thousands)

	June 30, 2012			December 31, 2011
5.875% senior notes due in 2016 (1)
Principal amount	$	115,000		$	115,000
Discount		(539	)		(600	)
Total senior notes due in 2016		114,461			114,400
5.85% subordinated notes due in 2016
Principal amount		50,500			50,500
Discount		(21	)		(24	)
Total subordinated notes due in 2016		50,479			50,476
6.95% junior subordinated debentures due in 2033
Principal amount		66,253			87,351
Discount		(55	)		(74	)
Total junior subordinated debentures due in 2033		66,198			87,277
Total senior and subordinated debt	$	231,138		$	252,153

(1) These  notes were issued to partially fund the redemption of $193.0 million of Series B preferred stock held by the U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) under the U.S. government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (“TARP”).

The Company’s senior and subordinated debt issuances are described in Note 11, “Senior and Subordinated Debt,” contained in the Company’s 2011 10-K.

In first quarter 2012, the Company repurchased and retired $21.1 million out of a total of $84.7 million of junior subordinated debentures at a discount of 2.25%. This transaction resulted in the recognition of a pre-tax gain of $256,000, which is included in other noninterest income in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Income.