Puerto Rico’s Oriental Bank to buy BBVA operation
Jun 28, 2012, 4:33 PM
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – Puerto Rico’s Oriental Financial Group Inc. says it is buying the local operations of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in a $500 million deal.
Oriental Board President Jose Rafael Fernandez says the deal will be finalized by year’s end, making Oriental the third largest bank in Puerto Rico in terms of assets. He said in a statement Thursday that Oriental has raised $84 million in a private placement and plans to use excess capital to help fund the purchase.
BBVA has about $5.2 billion in Puerto Rican assets, $3.7 billion in loans and $3.3 billion in deposits. It ranks seventh in deposits on the island and had a nearly 6 percent market share last year.
Oriental has $6.5 billion in assets, $1.7 billion in loans and $2.3 billion in deposits.
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