REGULATORY CAPITAL AND OTHER REGULATORY MATTERS

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Banking and Thrift [Abstract]

REGULATORY CAPITAL AND OTHER REGULATORY MATTERS

REGULATORYCAPITAL AND OTHER REGULATORY MATTERS

Regulatory Capital. The Company and First Bank are subject to various regulatory capital requirements administered by the federal and state banking agencies. Failure to meet minimum capital requirements can initiate certain mandatory and possibly additional discretionary actions by regulators that, if undertaken, could have a direct material effect on the operations and financial condition of the Company and First Bank. Under these capital requirements, the Company and First Bank must meet specific capital guidelines that involve quantitative measures of assets, liabilities and certain off-balance sheet items as calculated under regulatory accounting practices. Capital amounts and classifications are also subject to qualitative judgments by the regulators about components, risk weightings and other factors.

Quantitative measures established by regulation to ensure capital adequacy require the Company and First Bank to maintain minimum amounts and ratios of total and Tier 1 capital (as defined in the regulations) to risk-weighted assets, and of Tier 1 capital to average assets.

The Company did not meet the minimum regulatory capital standards established for bank holding companies by the Federal Reserve at March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012. The Company must maintain minimum total regulatory, Tier 1 regulatory and Tier 1 leverage ratios as set forth in the table below in order to meet the minimum capital adequacy standards.

First Bank was categorized as well capitalized at March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012 under the prompt corrective action provisions of the regulatory capital standards. First Bank must maintain minimum total regulatory, Tier 1 regulatory and Tier 1 leverage ratios as set forth in the table below in order to be categorized as well capitalized. In addition, First Bank is currently required to maintain its Tier 1 capital to total assets ratio at no less than 7.00% in accordance with the provisions of its informal agreement entered into with the State of Missouri Division of Finance (MDOF), as further described below. First Bank’s Tier 1 capital to total assets ratio of 9.54% and 9.20% at March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively, exceeded the 7.00% minimum level required under the terms of the informal agreement with the MDOF.

At March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, the Company and First Bank’s required and actual capital ratios were as follows:

											To be Well Capitalized Under Prompt Corrective Action Provisions
	Actual								For Capital Adequacy Purposes
	March 31, 2013				December 31, 2012
	Amount		Ratio		Amount		Ratio
	(dollars expressed in thousands)
Total capital (to risk-weighted assets):
First Banks, Inc.	$	98,418	2.72	%	$	93,542	2.57	%	8.0	%	N/A
First Bank	636,522		17.60		626,177		17.18		8.0		10.0	%
Tier 1 capital (to risk-weighted assets):
First Banks, Inc.	49,209		1.36		46,771		1.28		4.0		N/A
First Bank	590,748		16.33		580,026		15.92		4.0		6.0
Tier 1 capital (to average assets):
First Banks, Inc.	49,209		0.79		46,771		0.73		4.0		N/A
First Bank	590,748		9.50		580,026		9.13		4.0		5.0

As noted above, the Company’s capital ratios are below the minimum regulatory capital standards established for bank holding companies, and therefore, the Company could be subject to additional actions by regulators that could have a direct material effect on the operations and financial condition of the Company and First Bank.

Regulatory Agreements. On March 24, 2010, the Company, SFC and First Bank entered into a Written Agreement (Agreement) with the FRB requiring the Company and First Bank to take certain steps intended to improve their overall financial condition. Pursuant to the Agreement, the Company prepared and filed with the FRB a number of specific plans designed to strengthen and/or address the following matters: (i) board oversight over the management and operations of the Company and First Bank; (ii) credit risk management practices; (iii) lending and credit administration policies and procedures; (iv) asset improvement; (v) capital; (vi) earnings and overall financial condition; and (vii) liquidity and funds management.

The Agreement requires, among other things, that the Company and First Bank obtain prior approval from the FRB in order to pay dividends. In addition, the Company must obtain prior approval from the FRB to: (i) take any other form of payment from First Bank representing a reduction in capital of First Bank; (ii) make any distributions of interest, principal or other sums on junior subordinated debentures or trust preferred securities; (iii) incur, increase or guarantee any debt; or (iv) purchase or redeem any shares of the Company’s stock. Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, the Company and First Bank submitted a written plan to the FRB to maintain sufficient capital at the Company, on a consolidated basis, and at First Bank, on a standalone basis. In addition, the Agreement also provides that the Company and First Bank must notify the FRB if the regulatory capital ratios of either entity fall below those set forth in the capital plans that were accepted by the FRB, and specifically if First Bank falls below the criteria for being well capitalized under the regulatory framework for prompt corrective action. The Company must also notify the FRB before appointing any new directors or senior executive officers or changing the responsibilities of any senior executive officer position. The Agreement also requires the Company and First Bank to comply with certain restrictions regarding indemnification and severance payments. The Agreement is specifically enforceable by the FRB in court.

Prior to entering into the Agreement on March 24, 2010, the Company and First Bank had entered into a memorandum of understanding and an informal agreement, respectively, with the FRB and the MDOF. Each of the agreements were characterized by regulatory authorities as informal actions that were neither published nor made publicly available by the agencies and are used when circumstances warrant a milder form of action than a formal supervisory action, such as a written agreement or cease and desist order. The informal agreement with the MDOF is still in place and there have not been any modifications thereto since its inception in September 2008.

Under the terms of the prior memorandum of understanding with the FRB, the Company agreed, among other things, to provide certain information to the FRB including, but not limited to, financial performance updates, notice of plans to materially change its fundamental business and notice to issue trust preferred securities or raise additional equity capital. In addition, the Company agreed not to pay any dividends on its common or preferred stock or make any distributions of interest or other sums on its trust preferred securities without the prior approval of the FRB.

First Bank, under its informal agreement with the MDOF and the FRB, agreed to, among other things, prepare and submit plans and reports to the agencies regarding certain matters including, but not limited to, the performance of First Bank’s loan portfolio. In addition, First Bank agreed not to declare or pay any dividends or make certain other payments without the prior consent of the MDOF and the FRB and to maintain a Tier 1 capital to total assets ratio of no less than 7.00%.

While the Company and First Bank intend to take such actions as may be necessary to comply with the requirements of the Agreement with the FRB and informal agreement with the MDOF, there can be no assurance that the Company and First Bank will be able to comply fully with the requirements of the Agreement or that First Bank will be able to comply fully with the provisions of the informal agreement, that compliance with the Agreement and the informal agreement will not be more time consuming or more expensive than anticipated, that compliance with the Agreement and the informal agreement will enable the Company and First Bank to maintain profitable operations, or that efforts to comply with the Agreement and the informal agreement will not have adverse effects on the operations and financial condition of the Company or First Bank. If the Company or First Bank is unable to comply with the terms of the Agreement or the informal agreement, respectively, the Company and First Bank could become subject to various requirements limiting the ability to develop new business lines, mandating additional capital, and/or requiring the sale of certain assets and liabilities. Failure of the Company and First Bank to meet these conditions could lead to further enforcement action by the regulatory agencies. The terms of any such additional regulatory actions, orders or agreements could have a materially adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations.