TRANSACTIONS WITH RELATED PARTIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Related Party Transactions [Abstract]

Related Party Transactions Disclosure [Text Block]

Note 20 – Transactions With Related Parties

Outside of normal customer relationships, no directors or officers of the Company, no shareholders holding over 5% of the Company’s voting securities and no corporations or firms with which such persons or entities are associated currently maintain or have maintained, since the beginning of the last full fiscal year, any significant business or personal relationships with the Company or its subsidiaries, other than that which arises by virtue of such position or ownership interest in the Company or its subsidiaries, except as described in the following paragraphs.

First Services, L.P. First Services, L.P. (First Services), a limited partnership indirectly owned by the Company’s Chairman and members of his immediate family, including Mr. Michael Dierberg, a director of the Company, provides information technology, item processing and various related services to the Company and First Bank. Fees paid under agreements with First Services were $24.5 million, $26.2 million and $29.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. First Services leases information technology and other equipment from First Bank. First Services paid First Bank rental fees for the use of such equipment of $1.9 million, $2.5 million and $3.1 million during the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. In addition, First Services paid approximately $1.8 million, $1.9 million and $1.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively, in rental payments to First Bank for occupancy of certain First Bank premises from which business is conducted.

Effective January 1, 2009, First Services entered into an Affiliate Services Agreement with the Company and First Bank. The Affiliate Services Agreement relates to various services provided to First Services, including certain human resources, payroll, employee benefit and training services, insurance services and vendor payment processing services. Fees accrued under the Affiliate Services Agreement by First Services were $177,000, $157,000 and $231,000 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

First Brokerage America, L.L.C. First Brokerage America, L.L.C. (First Brokerage), a limited liability company indirectly owned by the Company’s Chairman and members of his immediate family, including Mr. Michael Dierberg, a director of the Company, received approximately $5.3 million, $5.0 million and $5.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively, in gross commissions paid by unaffiliated third-party companies. The commissions received primarily resulted from sales of annuities, securities and other insurance products to customers of First Bank. First Brokerage paid approximately $491,000, $312,000 and $227,000 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively, to First Bank in rental payments for occupancy of certain First Bank premises from which brokerage business is conducted.

Dierberg Vineyards / Wineries. The Company periodically purchases various products from Hermannhof, Inc. and Dierberg Star Lane Vineyards, entities that are owned and operated by the Company’s Chairman and members of his immediate family. The Company utilizes these products primarily for customer and employee events and promotions, and business development functions. During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company purchased products aggregating approximately $133,000 from these entities.

Dierbergs Markets, Inc. First Bank leases certain of its in-store branch offices and automated teller machine (ATM) sites from Dierbergs Markets, Inc., a grocery store chain headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri that is owned and operated by the brother of the Company’s Chairman and members of his immediate family. Total rent expense incurred by First Bank under the lease obligation contracts was $474,000, $462,000 and $437,000 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

First Capital America, Inc. / Small Business Loan Source LLC. SBLS LLC, which is presently an inactive subsidiary of First Bank, was engaged in the business of originating, selling and servicing loans which were generally guaranteed in part by the SBA. FCA, a corporation owned by the Company’s Chairman and members of his immediate family, including Mr. Michael Dierberg, a director of the Company, was a 17.45% owner of SBLS LLC prior to April 2009. In April 2009, First Bank and FCA entered into a Purchase Agreement providing for FCA to sell its 17.45% ownership interest in SBLS LLC to First Bank for a purchase price of $1.9 million, the fair value of FCA’s ownership interest in SBLS LLC as of April 30, 2009 as determined by an independent third party appraisal. As such, effective April 30, 2009, First Bank owned 100% of SBLS LLC. As a result of the purchase of FCA’s noncontrolling interest in SBLS LLC, the Company recorded an increase in additional paid-in-capital with a corresponding decrease in noncontrolling interest in subsidiaries of $2.8 million during the second quarter of 2009. Interest expense recorded by SBLS LLC under a promissory note with First Bank that matured in September 2009 was $1.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2009.

First Capital America, Inc. / FB Holdings, LLC. In May 2008, the Company formed FB Holdings, a limited liability company organized in the state of Missouri. FB Holdings operates as a majority-owned subsidiary of First Bank and was formed for the primary purpose of holding and managing certain nonperforming loans and assets to allow the liquidation of such assets at a time that is more economically advantageous to First Bank and to permit an efficient vehicle for the investment of additional capital by the Company’s sole owner of its Class A and Class B preferred stock. First Bank contributed cash of $9.0 million and nonperforming loans and assets with a fair value of approximately $133.3 million and FCA contributed cash of $125.0 million to FB Holdings during 2008. As a result, First Bank owned 53.23% and FCA owned the remaining 46.77% of FB Holdings as of December 31, 2011. The contribution of cash by FCA is reflected as a component of stockholders’ equity in the consolidated balance sheets and, consequently, increased the Company’s and First Bank’s risk-based capital ratios under then-existing regulatory guidelines, subject to certain limitations.

FB Holdings receives various services provided by First Bank, including loan servicing and special assets services as well as various other financial, legal, human resources and property management services. Fees paid under the agreement by FB Holdings to First Bank were $194,000, $321,000 and $570,000 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

Investors of America Limited Partnership. On March 24, 2011, the Company entered into a Credit Agreement with Investors of America, LP, as further described in Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements. Investors of America, LP is a Nevada limited partnership that was created by and for the benefit of the Company’s Chairman and members of his immediate family. The Credit Agreement provides for a $5.0 million secured revolving line of credit to be utilized for general working capital needs. This borrowing arrangement, which has a maturity date of December 31, 2012 and an interest rate of LIBOR plus 300 basis points, is intended to supplement, if necessary, the parent company’s overall level of unrestricted cash to cover the parent company’s projected operating expenses for the foreseeable future. There were no balances outstanding with respect to the Credit Agreement as of and for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Loans to Directors and/or their Affiliates. First Bank has had in the past, and may have in the future, loan transactions in the ordinary course of business with its directors and/or their affiliates. These loan transactions have been made on the same terms, including interest rates and collateral, as those prevailing at the time for comparable transactions with unaffiliated persons and, except as described below, did not involve more than the normal risk of collectability or present other unfavorable features. Loans to directors, their affiliates and executive officers of the Company were $20.7 million and $9.1 million at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively. First Bank does not extend credit to its officersor to officers of the Company, except extensions of credit secured by mortgages on personal residences, loans to purchase automobiles, personal credit card accounts and deposit account overdraft protection under a plan whereby a credit limit has been established in accordance with First Bank’s standard credit criteria.

Loans to directors, their affiliates and executive officers of the Company at December 31, 2011, included a $15.6 million multi-family real estate loan to a limited liability company which is 50% owned by the brother-in-law of Mr. Douglas H. Yaeger, a director of the Company. The loan is being paid as agreed and has not been reported as past due, nonaccrual or restructured as of December 31, 2011. However, based on current economic and financial considerations, management has classified this loan as special mention in the Company’s loan watch list as of December 31, 2011. Loans to directors, their affiliates and executive officers of the Company at December 31, 2011 also included two credit relationships aggregating $1.2 million to companies which are approximately 16% owned by the brother-in-law of Mr. Yaeger, including a $328,000 credit relationship that is 60 – 89 days past due. Both loans have been classified by management as substandard, or potential problem, loans in the Company’s loan watch list as of December 31, 2011.

Depositary Accounts of Directors and/or their Affiliates. Certain directors and/or their affiliates maintain funds on deposit with First Bank in the ordinary course of business. These deposit transactions include demand, savings and time accounts, and have been established on the same terms, including interest rates, as those prevailing at the time for comparable transactions with unaffiliated persons.