R-G Premier Bank of Puerto Rico, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico

R-G Premier Bank of Puerto Rico, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, becomes the 59th FDIC victim of 2010, at an estimated cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) of $1.23 billion. R-G Premier Bank of Puerto Rico is one of three institutions closed in Puerto Rico tonight.

R-G Premier Bank of Puerto Rico, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, was closed today by the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Scotiabank de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, to assume all of the deposits of R-G Premier Bank of Puerto Rico.

The 29 branches of R-G Premier Bank of Puerto Rico will reopen during normal business hours as branches of Scotiabank de Puerto Rico. Depositors of R-G Premier Bank of Puerto Rico will automatically become depositors of Scotiabank de Puerto Rico. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship to retain their deposit insurance coverage. Customers should continue to use their former R-G Premier Bank of Puerto Rico branch until they receive notice from Scotiabank de Puerto Rico that it has completed systems changes to allow other Scotiabank de Puerto Rico branches to process their accounts as well.

This evening and over the weekend, depositors of R-G Premier Bank of Puerto Rico can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.

As of December 31, 2009, R-G Premier Bank of Puerto Rico had approximately $5.92 billion in total assets and $4.25 billion in total deposits. Scotiabank de Puerto Rico paid the FDIC a premium of 1.35 percent to assume all of the deposits of R-G Premier Bank of Puerto Rico. In addition to assuming all of the deposits, Scotiabank de Puerto Rico agreed to purchase essentially all of the failed bank’s assets.

The FDIC and Scotiabank de Puerto Rico entered into a loss-share transaction on $5.41 billion of R-G Premier Bank of Puerto Rico’s assets. Scotiabank de Puerto Rico will share in the losses on the asset pools covered under the loss-share agreement. The loss-share transaction is projected to maximize returns on the assets covered by keeping them in the private sector. The transaction also is expected to minimize disruptions for loan customers. For more information on loss share, please visit: http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/lossshare/index.html.

If you should have any further questions please do not hesitate to visit the FDIC website for R-G Premier Bank.