-
The Treasury Department has sold nearly a fifth of its stake in Puerto Rico's First Bancorp in recent months.
December 11 -
The $7.8 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing Friday that it had sold performing mortgages with outstanding balances of roughly $193 million to First BanCorp, also in San Juan.
October 3 -
Banco Popular got the most press for agreeing to buy the failed Doral Bank. But the deal also revealed one surprise winner, First BanCorp, while another institution, OFG Bancorp, was shut out of the process.
March 5 -
Popular and FirstBank gained critical branches and deposits in a region where growth is hard to come by. Some observers said it could also benefit the island to have one less competitor.
February 27
First Bancorp in Puerto Rico revised its fourth-quarter earnings to reflect an adjustment tied to a reversal in its deferred-tax asset.
The $12.4 billion-asset company said in a press release Thursday that it recognized an income tax benefit of $302.9 million in the quarter due to a valuation allowance reversal. At Dec. 31, First Bancorp's deferred-tax asset totaled $313 million, net of a valuation allowance of $204.6 million.
The company determined that its FirstBank unit "more likely than not will generate sufficient taxable income within the applicable net operating loss carry-forward periods to realize a significant portion of its deferred tax assets," the release said.
The deferred-tax asset valuation allowance was reversed because FirstBank has reported six straight profitable quarters, along with expectations of a profitable first quarter.
As a result, First Bancorp's fourth quarter earnings rose to $330.8 million, or $1.56 a share, compared to its originally reported $26.3 million, or 12 cents a share. A year earlier, the company earned $14.8 million in the fourth quarter.
