Regional banking company First BanCorp announced definitive agreements with various investors, who will purchase approximately $515 million of common stock. The capital raise should be sufficient to compel the U.S. Treasury to convert the bank's $424.2 million of preferred stock into common shares. We are placing our 'CCC+' counterparty credit rating on First BanCorp's primary banking subsidiary, FirstBank, on CreditWatch with positive implications. On July 8, 2011, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services placed its 'CCC+' counterparty credit rating on FirstBank Puerto Rico on CreditWatch with positive implications. The positive CreditWatch action followed the recent announcement by parent company First BanCorp that it has entered into definitive agreements with various investors, who will purchase $515 million of its common stock. Private-equity
