Treasury Department to sell Valley National warrants

By Chris Carey, Bailout Sleuth

The Treasury Department will auction its warrants for common stock in Valley National Bancorp on Tuesday in a move expected to generate about $8.7 million for the government.

The New Jersey-based bank holding company got $300 million through the Troubled Asset Relief Program in November 2008, in return for preferred stock and warrants. It repaid the money in December 2009 and redeemed the preferred stock.

The Treasury Department will auction the 2,532,542 warrants left over from that deal. Each warrant entitles the holder to purchase a share of the company’s stock for $17.77. The stock was trading at around$15.20 at 3 p.m. Monday.

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