The U.S. Treasury department took another step in unwinding its crisis-era bank aid program known as TARP this week, announcing it will sell shares it holds in seven more small banks, including one based in Atlanta.
The Treasury said it would sell shares in Fidelity Southern Corp., parent of Fidelity Bank, and six other U.S. banks in a public auction to be held sometime around Monday.
Fidelity received $48.2 million under the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, and has paid $7.6 million in dividends through April, according to government reports.
The bank portion of TARP has been profitable, returning a profit of about $19 billion, according to the Treasury.
Fidelity is the second Georgia bank to have its government-owned preferred shares sold at auction. The government included its holdings in Moultrie-based Ameris Bancorp, parent of Ameris Bank, in an auction held earlier this month.
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