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STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
 9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2022
Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]  
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY [Text Block]
NOTE 14 – STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Stock Repurchase Programs
On April
 
27, 2022,
 
the Corporation
 
announced that
 
its Board
 
of Directors
 
approved a
 
stock repurchase
 
program, under
 
which the
Corporation
 
may
 
repurchase
 
up
 
to
 
$
350
 
million
 
of
 
its
 
outstanding
 
common
 
stock,
 
expected
 
to
 
be
 
executed
 
through
 
four
 
quarters,
which commenced
 
in the
 
second quarter
 
of 2022.
 
Repurchases under
 
the program
 
may be
 
executed through
 
open market
 
purchases,
accelerated share repurchases
 
and/or privately negotiated
 
transactions or plans, including
 
plans complying with Rule
 
10b5-1 under the
Exchange Act.
 
The Corporation’s
 
common stock repurchase
 
program is subject
 
to various factors,
 
including the
 
Corporation’s
 
capital
position,
 
liquidity,
 
financial
 
performance
 
and
 
alternative
 
uses
 
of
 
capital,
 
stock
 
trading
 
price,
 
and
 
general
 
market
 
conditions.
 
The
repurchase
 
program
 
may
 
be modified,
 
extended,
 
suspended,
 
or terminated
 
at
 
any
 
time at
 
the
 
Corporation’s
 
discretion.
 
The program
does
 
not
 
obligate
 
the
 
Corporation
 
to
 
acquire
 
any
 
specific
 
number
 
of
 
shares.
 
During
 
the
 
third
 
quarter
 
of
 
2022,
 
the
 
Corporation
repurchased
5,385,138
 
shares of common stock
 
through open market transactions
 
at an average purchase
 
price of $
13.93
 
per share for
a total price of
 
approximately $
75
 
million, under this stock
 
repurchase program. The
 
shares received are held
 
as treasury stock.
 
As of
September 30, 2022, the Corporation
 
has remaining authorization to
 
repurchase approximately $
175
 
million of common stock. For
 
the
nine-month period
 
ended September
 
30, 2022,
 
First BanCorp. has
 
repurchased approximately
15.9
 
million shares for
 
a total purchase
price of $
225.0
 
million under all stock repurchase programs.
Common Stock
The following table shows the change in shares of common stock outstanding in
 
the first nine months of 2022:
Total
 
Number of Shares
Common stock outstanding, beginning balance
201,826,505
Common stock repurchased
(1)
(16,066,747)
Common stock reissued from treasury stock
513,009
Restricted stock forfeited
(15,108)
Common stock outstanding, ending balance
186,257,659
(1)
Consisted
 
of
12,454,401
 
shares
 
of
 
common
 
stock
 
repurchased
 
in
 
the
 
open
 
market
 
at
 
an
 
average
 
price
 
of
 
$
14.05
 
per
 
share
 
for
 
a
 
total
 
purchase
 
price
 
of
approximately $
175
 
million under
 
the $
350
 
million stock
 
repurchase program
 
announced in
 
April 2022;
3,409,697
 
shares of
 
common stock
 
repurchased in
 
the
open market at
 
an average price
 
of $
14.66
 
for a total
 
purchase price of
 
approximately $
50
 
million under the prior
 
$
300
 
million stock repurchase
 
program which
was completed during the first quarter of 2022 and;
202,649
 
shares of common stock surrendered to cover officers' payroll and
 
income taxes.
For
 
the
 
quarter
 
and
 
nine-month
 
period
 
ended
 
September
 
30,
 
2022,
 
total
 
cash
 
dividends
 
declared
 
on
 
shares
 
of
 
common
 
stock
amounted to $
22.7
 
million and $
65.9
 
million, respectively,
 
compared to $
14.6
 
million and $
44.9
 
million for the same
 
periods in 2021.
On
October 27, 2022
 
the
 
Corporation’s
 
Board
 
of
 
Directors
 
declared
 
a
 
quarterly
 
cash
 
dividend
 
of
 
$
0.12
 
per
 
common
 
share
 
payable
on
December 9, 2022
 
to shareholders of record at the
 
close of business on
November 25, 2022
. The Corporation intends to continue
 
to
pay
 
quarterly
 
dividends
 
on common
 
stock.
 
However,
 
the
 
Corporation’s
 
common
 
stock dividends,
 
including
 
the declaration,
 
timing,
and amount, remain subject to consideration and approval by the Corporation’s
 
Board Directors at the relevant times.
 
Preferred Stock
The
 
Corporation
 
has
50,000,000
 
authorized
 
shares
 
of preferred
 
stock
 
with
 
a
 
par value
 
of $
1.00
,
 
redeemable
 
at
 
the
 
Corporation’s
option, subject to certain terms. This stock may be issued in series and
 
the shares of each series have such rights and preferences
 
as are
fixed by the Board of Directors when authorizing the issuance of that particular series.
 
On November
 
30, 2021,
 
the Corporation
 
redeemed
 
all of
 
its
1,444,146
 
outstanding
 
shares of
 
Series A
 
through
 
Series E
 
Preferred
Stock for
 
its liquidation
 
value of
 
$
25
 
per share
 
totaling $
36.1
 
million. The
 
difference
 
between the
 
liquidation value
 
and net
 
carrying
value was $
1.2
 
million, which was recorded
 
as a reduction to retained earnings
 
in 2021. The redeemed preferred
 
stock shares were not
listed on any
 
securities exchange
 
or automated
 
quotation system.
No
 
shares of preferred
 
stock have
 
been subsequently
 
issued or were
outstanding as of September 30, 2022. For the quarter
 
and nine-month period ended September 30, 2021, total cash dividends
 
declared
on shares of preferred stock amounted to $
0.7
 
million and $
2.0
 
million, respectively.
Treasury stock
During the first
 
nine months of
 
2022 and 2021,
 
the Corporation withheld
 
and recognized in
 
treasury stock an
 
aggregate of
202,649
shares and
213,757
 
shares, respectively,
 
of the restricted
 
stock and performance
 
units that vested
 
during those periods,
 
for income tax
withholding purposes.
 
Also recorded
 
as treasury
 
stock for
 
the first
 
nine months
 
of 2022
 
are the
15,864,098
 
shares of
 
common stock
repurchased as
 
part of
 
the stock
 
repurchase programs
 
described above
 
and
15,108
 
restricted shares
 
of common
 
stock awarded
 
under
the
 
Omnibus
 
Plan
 
that
 
were
 
forfeited
 
prior
 
to
 
vesting.
 
As
 
of
 
September
 
30,
 
2022
 
and
 
December
 
31,
 
2021,
 
the
 
Corporation
 
had
37,405,457
 
and
21,836,611
 
shares held as treasury
 
stock, respectively.
 
See Note 1 –
 
Basis of Presentation
 
and Significant Accounting
Policies
 
above
 
for
 
information
 
on
 
the
 
change
 
in
 
accounting
 
method
 
for
 
accounting
 
for
 
the
 
Corporation’s
 
treasury
 
stock
 
from
 
a
 
par
value to a cost method.
FirstBank Statutory Reserve (Legal Surplus)
 
The Banking Law
 
of the Commonwealth
 
of Puerto Rico requires
 
that a minimum of
10
% of FirstBank’s
 
net income for the
 
year be
transferred
 
to a
 
legal surplus
 
reserve
 
until such
 
surplus
 
equals the
 
total of
 
paid-in-capital
 
on common
 
and preferred
 
stock. Amounts
transferred
 
to
 
the
 
legal
 
surplus
 
reserve
 
from
 
retained
 
earnings
 
are
 
not
 
available
 
for
 
distribution
 
to
 
the
 
Corporation,
 
including
 
for
payment
 
as dividends
 
to the
 
stockholders,
 
without
 
the prior
 
consent
 
of the
 
Puerto Rico
 
Commissioner
 
of Financial
 
Institutions.
The
Puerto Rico Banking Law provides that, when the expenditures of a Puerto Rico commercial bank are greater than receipts, the excess
of the expenditures over receipts must be charged against the undistributed profits of the bank, and the balance, if any, must be
charged against the legal surplus reserve, as a reduction thereof. If the legal surplus reserve is not sufficient to cover such balance in
whole or in part, the outstanding amount must be charged against the capital account and the Bank cannot pay dividends until it can
replenish the legal surplus reserve to an amount of at least 20% of the original capital contributed.
 
FirstBank’s
 
legal surplus
 
reserve,
included as
 
part of
 
retained earnings
 
in the
 
Corporation’s
 
consolidated statements
 
of financial
 
condition, amounted
 
to $
137.6
 
million
as of
 
each of
 
September 30,
 
2022 and
 
December 31,
 
2021. There
 
were
no
 
transfers to
 
the legal
 
surplus reserve
 
during the
 
first nine
months of 2022.