First Commonwealth Repositions MBS Portfolio

First Commonwealth Financial Corp., Indiana, Pa., has announced a repositioning of the mortgage-backed securities portfolio of its subsidiary First Commonwealth Bank to reduce its exposure to interest rate risk.The bank sold $130.7 million of MBS with high premium carrying values, resulting in an after-tax loss of $3.6 million, First Commonwealth said. The average yield of the sold securities was 3.38%, and the average life was approximately 2.9 years. "The proceeds were reinvested in more current coupon mortgage-backed securities with an average yield of 5.3% and an average life of 3.7 years," the company said. First Commonwealth also reported the completion of a previously announced sale of five branch offices and one drive-through location to Clearfield Bank and Trust Co.