First Reliance shares hit new low
02/27/2009
First Reliance Bancshares, one of SC’s fastest-growing bank companies over the past decade, continues to see its stock price dwindle, along with that of many other financial services companies across the nation.
First Reliance, the $600-million Florence-based parent of First Reliance Bank, saw its shares fall 75 cents Friday, or nearly 25 percent, to $3.01. That’s down from $10.53 a share a year ago.
First Reliance earned $625,632 in 2008, but its performance was marred by a $1.6 million loss in the fourth quarter.
Fourth-quarter earnings were hurt by a $3.2 million provision for loan losses, according to a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
In January, First Reliance was advised it had been approved for the Treasury Department’s TARP Capital Purchase Program.
First Reliance expects to receive nearly $15 million from the Treasury Department in exchange for senior preferred stock and warrants.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of the quarter, according to the SEC filing.
