First BanCorp

Stock performance

History

First BanCorp's main subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, began in 1948 as a federal savings and loan institution and later converted into a commercial bank. It needed US Treasury support during the 2008 financial crisis and went through years of restructuring during Puerto Rico's recession, then grew substantially by acquiring Banco Santander Puerto Rico in 2020.

Business model

FirstBank provides consumer, commercial, mortgage, and auto lending and deposit services in Puerto Rico, the US and British Virgin Islands, and southern Florida. Like its local peers, it has benefited from a consolidated market with fewer competitors and from the inflow of federal disaster-recovery funds after Hurricane Maria.

Market position

First BanCorp is the second-largest bank holding company in Puerto Rico after Popular, with a strong presence in auto and consumer lending.

Country impact

As one of the three remaining large local banks, FirstBank is a major source of credit to Puerto Rican households and businesses. Its acquisition of Santander's local operation was part of a wider exit of mainland and foreign banks from the island that left credit concentrated in a few locally headquartered institutions.