Standard & Poor’s said it is removing FirstFed Financial Corp. from its S & P; SmallCap 600 after the close of trading on Dec. 31 because its $20.7 million market cap is well below requirements for that index.

To be admitted to the index, companies need a minimum market capitalization of $200 million. S & P; said the Santa Monica-based parent of First Federal Bank of California, which has been hit by the financial sector downturn, is unlikely to return to that minimum cap in the immediate future.

FirstFed shares, which were trading at $1.52 on Wednesday, have fallen 98 percent since the beginning of the year. The company in October reported a more than $50 million loss for its third quarter as a result of charge-offs for bad loans.

FirstFed will be replaced on the index by Amerisafe Inc., a DeRidder, La.-based property and casualty insurance company.