Banking and Finance
From the impact of Hurricane Maria, the value of shares of local banks has experienced a consistent increase.
The strong injection of federal money to finance the reconstruction valued in $82 million coupled with the fact that
there are fewer banks, are two factors of much weight in the performance of banks that have survived the current
crisis. Combined, the three local banks have a stock market capitalization value of $8,167,000.
Banco Popular with a stock market capitalization of $5.4 million, tops the list of the three local banks that its stock
quotes on Wall Street.
• November 2017 and November 2018, the stock value of Banco Popular (BPOP) increased from $34 to $53,
representing an increase of 55.8% in its value.
First Bank (FBP), with a stock market capitalization of $2,013,000, also saw an improvement in the value of its stock.
• November 2017 and November 2018, the stock value of First Bank (FBP) increased from $5.15 to $9.27, representing
an increase of 44.4% in its value.
Oriental Bank (OFG) with a stock market capitalization of $754 million, also saw improvement in the value of its stock
during the last twelve months.
• November 2017 and November 2018, the stock value of Oriental Bank (OFG) increased from $8.45 to $17.15,
representing an increase of 102% in its value.
The profitability of the banks has also entered positive ground, closing in the 2017 with a combined gain
of $317 million. At the end of the second quarter of 2018, the combined profitability of the sector was
$459 million.
It is to be expected that, as the island’s reconstruction takes force, banks experience higher levels of improvement.
This cycle should be extended for at least the next 24 months. We also stress that the current level of capitalization of
banks is healthy with a combined capital of $7.7 million.
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