First BanCorp reports Q4 EPS 49c, consensus 36c

Cash and cash equivalents increased by $78.3 M to $663.2M as of December 31 . When adding $2.2B of free high-quality liquid securities that could be liquidated or pledged within one day, total core liquidity amounted to $2.8B as of December 31 or 14.93% of total assets, compared to $2.7 B , or 14.58% of total assets as of September 30 . In addition, as of December 31 the Corporation had $924.2 M available for credit with the FHLB based on the value of collateral pledged with the FHLB. As such, the basic liquidity ratio was approximately 19.82% as of December 31 compared to 19.67% as of September 30 .. .Aurelio Aleman, President and Chief Executive Officer of First BanCorp., commented: “We closed an unprecedented and challenging year for the banking industry with another quarter of strong financial performance and solid loan growth for our franchise. We delivered a 1.70% return on average assets, grew loans by $233M or 7.8% linked quarter annualized, and decreased non-performing assets to just 0.67% of total assets. Core deposits, other than government and brokered, contracted by 2.0% as we continue to see use of excess liquidity across all market segments. We are very fortunate to have the support of our loyal client base and the commitment from all our service-oriented colleagues during this period and as we continue to capitalize on the stable economic environment of our main operating markets.”