At least eight more banks announced their participation in the Treasury Department's share purchase program in the past two days, adding roughly $1.48 billion to the total amount of taxpayer money to be invested in the institutions.

Popular Inc., the parent company of Puerto Rico's Banco Popular, said the Treasury Department had approved its application to sell as much as $950 million in preferred stock to the government.

Popular reported a $668.5 million loss for the third quarter, which included a charge for the sale of certain mortgage operations to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The company said last month that it would close more than a fourth of its U.S. branches and lay off a third of its U.S. workforce.

Cathay General Bancorp, of Los Angeles, was approved to sell $258 million in stock. The company was launched in 1962 to provide banking services to Chinese Americans. Its network now extends to New York, Texas, Massachusetts and Washington.

Superior Bancorp, of Birmingham, Ala., announced that it would receive $69 million. Great Southern Bancorp, which has headquarters in Springfield, Mo., said it was approved for $60 million.

The stock purchases by the Treasury Department are part of the $250 billion in capital that the government is injecting into the banking system in an attempt to strengthen balance sheets and stimulate lending.

By our reckoning, at least $175 billion of that money has already been allocated.

Capital Bank Corp., based in Raleigh, N.C., will get $42.9 million from the Treasury Department, while Southern Community Financial Corp., of Winston-Salem, N.C., will get $42.75 million.

Severn Bancorp, based in Annapolis, Md., was approved for $30 million in taxpayer investment. Bancorp Rhode Island Inc., of Providence, R.I., said it also would get $30 million.

Iberiabank Corp. said the Treasury Department had approved its application to sell up to $115 million in preferred stock to the government. But the bank holding company, based in Lafayette, La., said its management and board still had not decided whether to go ahead with that transaction.