FIRST FINANCIAL HOLDINGS, INC.
2440 Mall Drive – Charleston, S.C. 29406
August 10, 2010
Via Telecopy and Edgar
Mr. Paul Cline
Senior Accountant
Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Corporation Finance
100 F Street, N.E.
Washington, DC 20549-4561
| | Re: | First Financial Holdings, Inc. |
| | Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2009 |
| | Form 10-Q for the Quarterly Period Ended December 31, 2009 |
| | Form 10-Q for the Quarterly Period Ended March 31, 2010 |
Dear Mr. Cline:
This letter is to acknowledge receipt of the comment letter, dated July 30, 2010. As a result of the time it will take to prepare the information requested in your letter, we respectfully request that we be given an extension to respond to your comment letter until August 31, 2010 to allow for us, our legal counsel and our auditors to have sufficient time to review and respond to the comments.
If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact the undersigned at (843) 529-5456 or by email at bbettendorf@firstfederal.com.
| | Sincerely, |
| | |
| | /s/ Blaise B. Bettendorf |
| | |
| | Blaise B. Bettendorf |
| | Chief Financial Officer |
| cc: | Michael Volley, Securities and Exchange Commission, Division of Corporation Finance |
| | Justin Dobbie, Securities and Exchange Commission, Division of Corporation Finance |
P.O. Box 118068● Charleston, SC 29423-8068 ● (843) 529-5933 ● FAX (843) 529-5883
www.firstfinancialholdings.com
