Puerto Rico Rebuffs Doral's Demands for $230M Refund

Doral Financial (DRL) is evaluating its legal options after Puerto Rico rejected the company's request for a $230 million refund of overpaid taxes.

The $8.5 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing Thursday that the territory's Treasury Department has responded to its request by declaring that a 2012 agreement "is null and that Doral has no right to a refund." Glen Wakeman, Doral's president and chief executive, had sent the agency a letter last week demanding immediate payment.

Doral, which is under pressure from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to boost capital levels, said in the latest filing that it "anticipates taking appropriate action to protect its legal rights."

The FDIC recently told the San Juan, Puerto Rico, company that it could not count $289 million of receivables from the territory as Tier 1 capital under terms of a 2012 consent order. The receivables accounted for nearly 43% of its Tier 1 capital as of Dec. 31.

Doral has been developing a revised capital plan to address the FDIC's concerns. The company recently said it could sell certain assets — performing and nonperforming — and businesses to meet the FDIC's requirements.

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