During challenging conditions over the past year, FirstBank Puerto Rico's business stability has been somewhat better than mainland U.S. regional bank peers in terms of deposit flows, net interest margins, and net earnings. Despite large payouts, the bank has also maintained strong (albeit declining) capital ratios, better-than-average funding metrics, and solid liquidity, though we expect modest asset quality deterioration. As a result, we affirmed our 'BB+' long-term rating on FirstBank Puerto Rico. The outlook remains stable, incorporating our view that FirstBank will maintain strong capital ratios and solid earnings, and will not experience a meaningful deterioration in asset quality even as adjusted nonperforming assets remain higher than for many rated mainland peers. On April 29, 2024, S&P Global Ratings affirmed
