8-K

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 8-K

                             CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT
                          TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE
                         SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

        Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported): August 8, 2002


                           FIRST STATE BANCORPORATION
             (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

                                   New Mexico
                 (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)

                   001-12487                    85-0366665
           (Commission File Number) (IRS Employer Identification No.)

               7900 Jefferson, N.E., Albuquerque, New Mexico 87109
               (Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

                                 (505) 241-7500
              (Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code)



Item 5. Other Events.

     On August 8, 2002, the Registrant issued a News Release announcing the sale
of 2.1 million shares of its common stock to an underwriting group led by Keefe,
Bruyette & Woods, Inc. A copy of the News Release is attached hereto as Exhibit
99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 7. Financial Statements, Pro Forma Financial Information and Exhibits.

        Items (a) and (b) are inapplicable.

        Item (c) Exhibits.

Exhibit 99.1    News Release issued by the Registrant, dated August 8, 2002.



                                    SIGNATURE

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

                                        FIRST STATE BANCORPORATION

Date:  August 9, 2002                   By:  /s/  Brian C. Reinhardt
                                            ---------------------------------
                                               Brian C. Reinhardt
                                               Executive Vice President and
                                               Chief Financial Officer



                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit  Description
- -------  -----------

99.1     Press release dated August 8, 2002.

EX-99.1

                                                                    Exhibit 99.1
[LOGO]                                                      [LETTERHEAD]

                                  NEWS RELEASE

H. Patrick Dee                                           Brian C. Reinhardt
Chief Operating Officer                                  Chief Financial Officer
(505) 241-7102                                           (505) 241-7598
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      First State Bancorporation Announces Pricing of Common Stock Offering

     Albuquerque NM--August 8, 2002--First State Bancorporation ("First State")
(NASDAQ:FSNM) today announced the sale of 2.1 million shares of its common stock
to an underwriting group led by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., ("KBW"). The
shares are being offered to the public at $22.50 per share. KBW is serving as
lead manager for this offering. The other underwriters of the offering are
Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated and D.A. Davidson & Co.

     The underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional
315,000 shares of common stock from First State solely to cover over-allotments,
if any.

     Copies of the final prospectus may be obtained from Keefe, Bruyette &
Woods, Inc., 787 Seventh Avenue, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10019.

     The public offering of the 2.1 million shares is anticipated to close on
August 14, 2002.

     First State intends to use all of the net proceeds from this offering,
together with a portion of the net proceeds from their recent offering of trust
preferred securities, to pay the purchase price for the acquisition of First
Community Industrial Bank, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Pending the use of
the net proceeds of this offering for that purpose, First State intends to
invest the net proceeds in short-term, interest-bearing investments.

     This notice is provided for information purposes only, and does not
represent a solicitation or offer to buy or sell any security.

     A registration statement relating to these securities was filed with and
has been declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The
offering is made by means of a prospectus only, which may be obtained by
contacting any of the underwriters. This press release shall not constitute an
offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sales
of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer,
solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification
under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

     First State Bancorporation is the only publicly traded New Mexico based
commercial bank holding company. First State provides services to customers from
a total of 21 locations in Albuquerque, Taos, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe, Los Lunas,
Bernalillo, Placitas, Questa, Belen, Moriarty, and Pojoaque, New Mexico.

     This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. For example, the discussions regarding prospects of the
pending acquisition of First Community Industrial Bank and its financing include
forward-looking statements. Other forward-looking statements can be identified
by the use of forward-looking words such as "believes," "expects," "may,"
"will," "should," "seeks," "approximately," "intends," "plans," "estimates," or
"anticipates" or the negative of those words or other comparable terminology.
Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of
important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in
the forward-looking statement. Some factors include fluctuations in interest
rates, inflation, government regulations, loss of key personnel, faster or
slower than anticipated growth, economic conditions, competition's responses to
First State's marketing strategy, and competition in the geographic and business
areas in which we conduct our operations. Other factors are described in First
State's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. First State is
under no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

     First State's news releases are available through the Investor Relations
section of First State's website at www.fsbnm.com.