Benzinga | Jul 28, 2020 07:36AM EDT

First BanCorp. Receives Regulatory Approval For Acquisition Of Banco Santander Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- First BanCorp. (the "Corporation") (NYSE:FBP), the bank holding company for FirstBank Puerto Rico ("FirstBank"), announced today that it has received the requisite regulatory approvals from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico for FirstBank to consummate the previously announced acquisition of the Puerto Rico operations of Banco Santander Puerto Rico ("Santander"). Subject to the satisfaction of the remaining customary conditions to closing, the Corporation expects to complete the acquisition by September 1, 2020.

On a pro forma basis based on June 30, 2020, upon closing of the transaction, FirstBank expects to have approximately $18.8 billion in assets, a $12 billion loan portfolio, $15.4 billion of deposits, and approximately 650,000 customers. In addition, FirstBank expects to have 450 ATMs, 73 branches, and more than 3,500 employees across the Corporation.

Aurelio Alem?n, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation, commented: "We are very pleased to have received regulatory approvals for this transformational transaction for our Corporation. We expect that this acquisition will significantly improve our scale and competitiveness in Puerto Rico and will be financially compelling to optimize the use of our excess capital."

"We have been preparing for a strategic transaction of this magnitude and have been working diligently on integration planning. The Santander team expands our talent bench in retail, commercial and business banking. First BanCorp will become a stronger competitor in Puerto Rico with the scale and breadth to better serve customers, and further our investments in innovation and talent development. We are greatly appreciative of expanding our client base and we will work hard to continue enhancing our portfolio of products, services and channels to meet their needs and exceed their expectations."

Upon closing and for a transitional period until the conversion of systems is completed, FirstBank plans to continue using certain of Santander's technology platforms on a transitional basis. As a result, current Santander customers will continue to transact as they currently do without any impact to their service as a result of the transaction. In addition, upon closing of the transaction, Santander's customers will be able to use all FirstBank ATMs without out of network fees.