Fitch Affirms & Removes First BanCorp from Rating Watch Negative.CARACAS, Venezuela -- Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. has affirmed First BanCorp's (FBP FBP Fructose Bisphosphate FBP Filtered Back-Projection (algorithm) FBP Filtered Back Projection FBP Federal Bureau of Prisons FBP Final Boiling Point FBP Friends of the Border Patrol FBP Foreign Buyer Program FBP Full Blood Picture ) long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR IDR In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Indonesian Rupiah. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. ) of 'BB' and Individual rating of 'C/D' and removed the Rating Watch Negative. The Rating Outlook is Negative. Fitch placed the ratings of FBP on Rating Watch Negative on Oct. 30, 2006. At the same time, Fitch is affirming the IDR and short-term rating of FBP's subsidiary, FirstBank of Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (pwār`tō rē`kō), island (2005 est. pop. 3,917,000), 3,508 sq mi (9,086 sq km), West Indies, c.1,000 mi (1,610 km) SE of Miami, Fla. (bank) at 'BB' and 'B', respectively. The Rating Outlook remains Negative. A complete list of ratings is provided at the end of this release. The removal of the Rating Watch Negative was driven by the expectation of improved liquidity and liquidity planning at FBP. The expected improved liquidity comes from the announcement on Feb. 16, 2007, that Bank of Nova Scotia Nova Scotia (nō`və skō`shə) [Lat.,=new Scotland], province (2001 pop. 908,007), 21,425 sq mi (55,491 sq km), E Canada. Geography has entered into an agreement to buy a 10% share in FBP for $94.8 million. The investment by Bank of Nova Scotia provides FBP with additional liquidity at the parent level. In addition, as part of the regulatory agreement in place, FBP submitted a written plan to provide for the maintenance of an adequate liquidity position, including establishing appropriate liquidity measures at the parent, and maintenance of sufficient liquidity to meet commitments and unanticipated needs. Resolution of the Negative Outlook will likely not precede the conclusion of the audited financials, SEC investigation, settlement of lawsuits and regulatory agreements, and the expectation of a period of steady state performance. The following ratings have been affirmed with a Negative Outlook: First BanCorp --Long-term IDR at 'BB'; --Individual at 'C/D'; --Short-term at 'B'; --Support '5'. FirstBank Puerto Rico --Long-term IDR at 'BB'; --Long-term deposit obligations at 'BB+'; --Short-term deposit obligations at 'B'; --Short-term at 'B'; --Individual at 'C/D'; --Support at '5'. Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use Terms of Use are rules set up by the owner of an intellectual property or service to govern how they may be legally used. In many cases, terms of service are used as a contractual agreement between a company and users of a service they provide. of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. |
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