Treasury said it plans to conduct public auctions to sell its stock in Banner Corp (>> Banner Corporation), First Financial Holdings Inc (>> First Financial Holdings, Inc.), MainSource Financial Group (>> MainSource Financial Group Inc.), Seacoast Banking Corp (>> Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida), Wilshire Bancorp (>> Wilshire Bancorp Inc) and WSFS Financial Corp (>> WSFS Financial Corporation).

It has so far recovered $259 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program bank programs, which were set up to help stabilize the financial system during the 2007-09 crisis.

The Treasury said it expects to start unwinding its positions in the six small banks around March 26 using a modified Dutch auction that establishes a market price by allowing investors to submit bids at specified increments.

Treasury still has stakes in 361 banks. Last week the administration announced plans to cut its position in insurer American International Group (>> American International Group, Inc.) to 70 percent from 77 percent.

(Reporting by Rachelle Younglai; Editing by Gary Crosse and Jan Paschal)