INCOME TAXES	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2018
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
INCOME TAXES	NOTE 21 - INCOME TAXES Income tax expense includes Puerto Rico and USVI income taxes, as well as applicable U.S. federal and state taxes. The Corporation is subject to Puerto Rico income tax on its income from all sources. As a Puerto Rico corporation, First BanCorp. is treated as a foreign corporation for U.S. and USVI income tax purposes and, accordingly, is generally subject to U.S. and USVI income tax only on its income from sources within the U.S. and USVI or income effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in those jurisdictions. Any such tax paid in the U.S. and USVI is also creditable against the Corporation’s Puerto Rico tax liability, subject to certain conditions and limitations. Under the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 2011, as amended (the “2011 PR Code”), the Corporation and its subsidiaries are treated as separate taxable entities and are generally not entitled to file consolidated tax returns and, thus, the Corporation is generally not entitled to utilize losses from one subsidiary to offset gains in another subsidiary. Accordingly, in order to obtain a tax benefit from a net operating loss (“NOL”), a particular subsidiary must be able to demonstrate sufficient taxable income within the applicable NOL carry-forward period. The 2011 PR Code allows an entity organized as a limited liability company to elect to become a non-taxable “pass-through” entity and utilize losses to offset income from other “pass-through” entities, subject to certain limitations, with the remaining net income passing-through to its partner entities. The 2011 PR Code also provides a dividend received deduction of 100% on dividends received from “controlled” subsidiaries subject to taxation in Puerto Rico and 85% on dividends received from other taxable domestic corporations. On March 1, 2017, the Corporation completed the applicable regulatory filings to change the tax status of its subsidiary, First Federal Finance, from a taxable corporation to a non-taxable “pass-through” entity. This election allows the Corporation to realize tax benefits of its deferred tax assets associated with pass-through ordinary net operating losses available at the banking subsidiary, FirstBank, which were subject to a full valuation allowance as of December 31, 2016, against now pass-through ordinary income from this profitable subsidiary. On March 1, 2017, the Corporation also completed the applicable regulatory filings to change the tax status of its subsidiary, FirstBank Insurance, from a taxable corporation to a non-taxable “pass-through” entity. This election allows the Corporation to offset pass-through income projected to be earned by FirstBank Insurance with net operating losses available at the Holding Company level. The Corporation has maintained an effective tax rate lower than the maximum statutory rate mainly by investing in government obligations and MBS exempt from U.S. and Puerto Rico income taxes and by doing business through an International Banking Entity (“IBE”) unit of the Bank, and through the Bank’s subsidiary, FirstBank Overseas Corporation, whose interest income and gain on sales is exempt from Puerto Rico income taxation. The IBE and FirstBank Overseas Corporation were created under the International Banking Entity Act of Puerto Rico, which provides for total Puerto Rico tax exemption on net income derived by IBEs operating in Puerto Rico on the specific activities identified in the IBE Act. An IBE that operates as a unit of a bank pays income taxes at the corporate standard rates to the extent that the IBE’s net income exceeds 20% of the bank’s total net taxable income. For the third quarter and first nine months of 2018, the Corporation recorded an income tax expense of $12.3 million and $30.2 million, respectively, compared to income tax benefits of $8.4 million and $7.2 million for the comparable periods in 2017. The variance in the income tax expense for the third quarter of 2018, as compared to the tax benefit for the same period in 2017, primarily reflects the effect of the tax benefit recorded in the third quarter of 2017 in connection with hurricane-related losses, and a higher effective tax rate in 2018 driven by a higher proportion of taxable to exempt income. The variance for the first nine-months of 2018, as compared to the same period in 2017, was mostly attributable to the aforementioned tax benefit related to hurricane-related losses and the $13.2 million tax benefit recorded in the first quarter of 2017 as a result of the above-discussed change in tax status of certain subsidiaries from taxable corporations to limited liability companies that have elected to be treated as partnerships for income tax purposes in Puerto Rico. A higher effective tax rate also contributed for the variance in the income tax expense for the first nine months of 2018 as compared to the same period in 2017. For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2018, the Corporation calculated the provision for income taxes by applying the estimated annual effective tax rate for the full fiscal year to ordinary income or loss. In the computation of the consolidated worldwide annual estimated effective tax rate, ASC Topic 740-270, “Income Taxes-Interim Reporting,” requires the exclusion of legal entities with pre-tax losses from which a tax benefit cannot be recognized. The Corporation’s estimated annual effective tax rate in the first nine months of 2018, excluding entities from which a tax benefit cannot be recognized and discrete items, was 26% compared to 20% for the first nine months of 2017. The higher effective tax rate for 2018 was driven by a higher proportion of taxable to exempt income. The estimated annual effective tax rate, including all entities for the first nine months of 2018 was 24% (25% excluding discrete items, primarily the tax benefit resulting from the excess tax benefit recognized during the first quarter of 2018 upon the vesting of shares granted under the Corporation’s stock-based compensation plan), compared to -2% for the first nine months of 2017 (21% excluding discrete items, primarily the tax benefit resulting from the previously mentioned change in the tax status of two subsidiaries). The Corporation’s net deferred tax asset amounted to $272.3 million as of September 30, 2018, net of a valuation allowance of $183.2 million, and management concluded, based upon the assessment of all positive and negative evidence, that it is more likely than not that the Corporation will generate sufficient taxable income within the applicable NOL carry-forward periods to realize such amount. The net deferred tax asset of the Corporation’s banking subsidiary, FirstBank, amounted to $272.2 million as of September 30, 2018, net of a valuation allowance of $142.2 million, compared to a net deferred tax asset of $294.7 million, net of a valuation allowance of $150.7 million, as of December 31, 2017. During the third quarter of 2017, the Corporation completed a formal ownership change analysis within the meaning of Section 382 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (“Section 382”) covering a comprehensive period, and concluded that an ownership change occurred during such period. Section 382 limits the ability to utilize U.S. and USVI NOLs for income tax purposes at such jurisdictions following an event of an ownership change. The Section 382 limitation resulted in higher U.S. income tax liabilities than we would have incur in the absence of such limitation. For the third quarter and first nine months of 2018, and mainly as a result of the Section 382 limitation, the Corporation incurred an income tax expense of approximately $1.2 million and $3.8 million, respectively, related to its U.S. operations, compared to the $1.6 million expense recorded for the third quarter and first nine months of 2017. The limitation did not result in an increased income tax expense for the USVI operations in the first nine months of 2018 or comparable 2017 period. Prospectively, the Corporation expects that it will be able to mitigate to an extent the adverse effects associated with the Section 382 limitation as any such tax paid in the U.S. or USVI could be creditable against Puerto Rico tax liabilities or taken as deduction against taxable income. However, our ability to reduce our Puerto Rico tax liability through such a credit or deduction depends on our tax profile at each annual taxable period, which is dependent on various factors. As of September 30, 2018, the Corporation did not have Unrecognized Tax Benefits recorded on its books. The Corporation classifies all interest and penalties, if any, related to tax uncertainties as income tax expense. Audit periods remain open for review until the statute of limitations has passed. The statute of limitations under the 2011 PR Code is four years; the statute of limitations for U.S. and USVI income tax purposes is three years after a tax return is due or filed, whichever is later, for each. The completion of an audit by the taxing authorities or the expiration of the statute of limitations for a given audit period could result in an adjustment to the Corporation’s liability for income taxes. Any such adjustment could be material to the results of operations for any given quarterly or annual period based, in part, upon the results of operations for the given period. For U.S. and USVI income tax purposes, all tax years subsequent to 2013 remain open to examination. For Puerto Rico tax purposes, all tax years subsequent to 2012 remain open to examination. On December 22, 2017, the United States president signed H.R.1, The Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts, effective January 1, 2018, which includes an overhaul of individual, business and international taxes and has affected our branch operations in the U.S. and the USVI. The bill includes measures reducing corporate taxes from 35% to 21%, a repeal of the corporate alternative minimum tax regime, changes to business deductions and NOLs, a 15.5% tax on mandatory repatriation of liquid assets, 10% tax on base erosion payments, and a minimum 10.5% tax on inclusion of global intangible low-tax income by U.S. shareholders, among other significant changes. The main provisions affecting our operations in the U.S. and the USVI in the first nine months of 2018 include: the change in tax rate to 21%, the limitation to the amount certain financial institutions may deduct for premiums paid to the FDIC, and changes in permanent differences, such as meals and entertainment deductions. Other significant provisions, such as the base erosion and anti-abuse tax, do not affect the Corporation’s U.S. and USVI branch operations since these operations’ receipts do not exceed the annual threshold of U.S. effectively connected gross receipts.

NOTE 21 - INCOME TAXES

Income tax expense includes Puerto Rico and USVI income taxes, as well as applicable U.S. federal and state taxes. The Corporation is subject to Puerto Rico income tax on its income from all sources. As a Puerto Rico corporation, First BanCorp. is treated as a foreign corporation for U.S. and USVI income tax purposes and, accordingly, is generally subject to U.S. and USVI income tax only on its income from sources within the U.S. and USVI or income effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in those jurisdictions. Any such tax paid in the U.S. and USVI is also creditable against the Corporation’s Puerto Rico tax liability, subject to certain conditions and limitations.

Under the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 2011, as amended (the “2011 PR Code”), the Corporation and its subsidiaries are treated as separate taxable entities and are generally not entitled to file consolidated tax returns and, thus, the Corporation is generally not entitled to utilize losses from one subsidiary to offset gains in another subsidiary. Accordingly, in order to obtain a tax benefit from a net operating loss (“NOL”), a particular subsidiary must be able to demonstrate sufficient taxable income within the applicable NOL carry-forward period. The 2011 PR Code allows an entity organized as a limited liability company to elect to become a non-taxable “pass-through” entity and utilize losses to offset income from other “pass-through” entities, subject to certain limitations, with the remaining net income passing-through to its partner entities. The 2011 PR Code also provides a dividend received deduction of 100% on dividends received from “controlled” subsidiaries subject to taxation in Puerto Rico and 85% on dividends received from other taxable domestic corporations.

On March 1, 2017, the Corporation completed the applicable regulatory filings to change the tax status of its subsidiary, First Federal Finance, from a taxable corporation to a non-taxable “pass-through” entity. This election allows the Corporation to realize tax benefits of its deferred tax assets associated with pass-through ordinary net operating losses available at the banking subsidiary, FirstBank, which were subject to a full valuation allowance as of December 31, 2016, against now pass-through ordinary income from this profitable subsidiary.

On March 1, 2017, the Corporation also completed the applicable regulatory filings to change the tax status of its subsidiary, FirstBank Insurance, from a taxable corporation to a non-taxable “pass-through” entity. This election allows the Corporation to offset pass-through income projected to be earned by FirstBank Insurance with net operating losses available at the Holding Company level.

The Corporation has maintained an effective tax rate lower than the maximum statutory rate mainly by investing in government obligations and MBS exempt from U.S. and Puerto Rico income taxes and by doing business through an International Banking Entity (“IBE”) unit of the Bank, and through the Bank’s subsidiary, FirstBank Overseas Corporation, whose interest income and gain on sales is exempt from Puerto Rico income taxation. The IBE and FirstBank Overseas Corporation were created under the International Banking Entity Act of Puerto Rico, which provides for total Puerto Rico tax exemption on net income derived by IBEs operating in Puerto Rico on the specific activities identified in the IBE Act. An IBE that operates as a unit of a bank pays income taxes at the corporate standard rates to the extent that the IBE’s net income exceeds 20% of the bank’s total net taxable income.

For the third quarter and first nine months of 2018, the Corporation recorded an income tax expense of $12.3 million and $30.2 million, respectively, compared to income tax benefits of $8.4 million and $7.2 million for the comparable periods in 2017. The variance in the income tax expense for the third quarter of 2018, as compared to the tax benefit for the same period in 2017, primarily reflects the effect of the tax benefit recorded in the third quarter of 2017 in connection with hurricane-related losses, and a higher effective tax rate in 2018 driven by a higher proportion of taxable to exempt income. The variance for the first nine-months of 2018, as compared to the same period in 2017, was mostly attributable to the aforementioned tax benefit related to hurricane-related losses and the $13.2 million tax benefit recorded in the first quarter of 2017 as a result of the above-discussed change in tax status of certain subsidiaries from taxable corporations to limited liability companies that have elected to be treated as partnerships for income tax purposes in Puerto Rico. A higher effective tax rate also contributed for the variance in the income tax expense for the first nine months of 2018 as compared to the same period in 2017.

For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2018, the Corporation calculated the provision for income taxes by applying the estimated annual effective tax rate for the full fiscal year to ordinary income or loss. In the computation of the consolidated worldwide annual estimated effective tax rate, ASC Topic 740-270, “Income Taxes-Interim Reporting,” requires the exclusion of legal entities with pre-tax losses from which a tax benefit cannot be recognized. The Corporation’s estimated annual effective tax rate in the first nine months of 2018, excluding entities from which a tax benefit cannot be recognized and discrete items, was 26% compared to 20% for the first nine months of 2017. The higher effective tax rate for 2018 was driven by a higher proportion of taxable to exempt income. The estimated annual effective tax rate, including all entities for the first nine months of 2018 was 24% (25% excluding discrete items, primarily the tax benefit resulting from the excess tax benefit recognized during the first quarter of 2018 upon the vesting of shares granted under the Corporation’s stock-based compensation plan), compared to -2% for the first nine months of 2017 (21% excluding discrete items, primarily the tax benefit resulting from the previously mentioned change in the tax status of two subsidiaries).

The Corporation’s net deferred tax asset amounted to $272.3 million as of September 30, 2018, net of a valuation allowance of $183.2 million, and management concluded, based upon the assessment of all positive and negative evidence, that it is more likely than not that the Corporation will generate sufficient taxable income within the applicable NOL carry-forward periods to realize such amount. The net deferred tax asset of the Corporation’s banking subsidiary, FirstBank, amounted to $272.2 million as of September 30, 2018, net of a valuation allowance of $142.2 million, compared to a net deferred tax asset of $294.7 million, net of a valuation allowance of $150.7 million, as of December 31, 2017.

During the third quarter of 2017, the Corporation completed a formal ownership change analysis within the meaning of Section 382 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (“Section 382”) covering a comprehensive period, and concluded that an ownership change occurred during such period. Section 382 limits the ability to utilize U.S. and USVI NOLs for income tax purposes at such jurisdictions following an event of an ownership change. The Section 382 limitation resulted in higher U.S. income tax liabilities than we would have incur in the absence of such limitation. For the third quarter and first nine months of 2018, and mainly as a result of the Section 382 limitation, the Corporation incurred an income tax expense of approximately $1.2 million and $3.8 million, respectively, related to its U.S. operations, compared to the $1.6 million expense recorded for the third quarter and first nine months of 2017. The limitation did not result in an increased income tax expense for the USVI operations in the first nine months of 2018 or comparable 2017 period. Prospectively, the Corporation expects that it will be able to mitigate to an extent the adverse effects associated with the Section 382 limitation as any such tax paid in the U.S. or USVI could be creditable against Puerto Rico tax liabilities or taken as deduction against taxable income. However, our ability to reduce our Puerto Rico tax liability through such a credit or deduction depends on our tax profile at each annual taxable period, which is dependent on various factors.

As of September 30, 2018, the Corporation did not have Unrecognized Tax Benefits recorded on its books. The Corporation classifies all interest and penalties, if any, related to tax uncertainties as income tax expense. Audit periods remain open for review until the statute of limitations has passed. The statute of limitations under the 2011 PR Code is four years; the statute of limitations for U.S. and USVI income tax purposes is three years after a tax return is due or filed, whichever is later, for each. The completion of an audit by the taxing authorities or the expiration of the statute of limitations for a given audit period could result in an adjustment to the Corporation’s liability for income taxes. Any such adjustment could be material to the results of operations for any given quarterly or annual period based, in part, upon the results of operations for the given period. For U.S. and USVI income tax purposes, all tax years subsequent to 2013 remain open to examination. For Puerto Rico tax purposes, all tax years subsequent to 2012 remain open to examination.

On December 22, 2017, the United States president signed H.R.1, The Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts, effective January 1, 2018, which includes an overhaul of individual, business and international taxes and has affected our branch operations in the U.S. and the USVI. The bill includes measures reducing corporate taxes from 35% to 21%, a repeal of the corporate alternative minimum tax regime, changes to business deductions and NOLs, a 15.5% tax on mandatory repatriation of liquid assets, 10% tax on base erosion payments, and a minimum 10.5% tax on inclusion of global intangible low-tax income by U.S. shareholders, among other significant changes. The main provisions affecting our operations in the U.S. and the USVI in the first nine months of 2018 include: the change in tax rate to 21%, the limitation to the amount certain financial institutions may deduct for premiums paid to the FDIC, and changes in permanent differences, such as meals and entertainment deductions. Other significant provisions, such as the base erosion and anti-abuse tax, do not affect the Corporation’s U.S. and USVI branch operations since these operations’ receipts do not exceed the annual threshold of U.S. effectively connected gross receipts.