NEW YORK (Standard & Poor's) Oct. 3, 2005--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today placed its 'BBB-' long-term counterparty credit rating and 'BB+' subordinated debt rating on San Juan, Puerto Rico-based FirstBank Puerto Rico (FirstBank; NYSE: FBP) on CreditWatch with negative implications. FirstBank is the commercial banking subsidiary of First BanCorp, a financial holding company. "The CreditWatch listing is based on FirstBank's recently announced senior management changes and the potential impact on its franchise," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Michael Driscoll. FirstBank announced last Friday that Angel Alvarez-Perez has stepped down as President and CEO and Annie Astor-Carbonell has resigned as CFO. These management changes come at a time when FirstBank is already under an informal inquiry regarding its accounting
