Regional banking company First BanCorp announced the completion of the sale of $525 million of common stock and the conversion of the U.S. Treasury's preferred stock. We are removing the counterparty credit rating on First BanCorp's primary banking subsidiary, FirstBank Puerto Rico, from CreditWatch and raising it to 'B+' from 'CCC+'. The outlook is stable, based on our view that the sale and conversion significantly improve the bank's capital level and add much needed stability to its franchise. On Oct. 10, 2011, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services removed the counterparty credit rating on FirstBank Puerto Rico (FirstBank) from CreditWatch, where it was placed with positive implications on July 8, 2011, and raised the rating to 'B+' from 'CCC+'. The outlook
