Popular Announces Substantial Sale of Loan and Servicing Assets of its U.S. Mortgage Unit, Popular Financial Holdings, to Goldma
August 29 2008 - 7:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Aug. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Popular,
Inc. announced today an agreement to sell loan and servicing assets
of its U.S. mortgage subsidiary Popular Financial Holdings (PFH) to
various Goldman Sachs affiliates. The sale includes approximately
$1,170 million in loans and mortgage servicing assets. The
transaction, expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2008, will
provide more than $700 million in additional liquidity and
significantly reduce Popular's U.S. subprime assets. Popular
expects to report a loss of approximately $450 million in
connection with the transaction. "We are continuing to narrow the
scope of our mainland U.S. operations that are most exposed to the
credit and mortgage markets, by leveraging on our core strengths in
Puerto Rico, where we are the undisputed market leader. Indeed, our
core retail banking franchise in Puerto Rico is strong and
continues to perform well," said Richard L. Carrion, Chairman,
President and CEO of Popular, Inc. Forward-Looking statements The
information included in this press release may contain certain
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are
based on management's current expectations and involve certain
risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed in forward- looking statements.
Factors such as changes in interest rate environment, as well as
general changes in business market and economic conditions may
cause actual results to differ from those contemplated by such
forward-looking statements. For a discussion of such risks and
uncertainties, see the Corporation's Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended December 31, 2007 as well as its filings with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Corporation assumes no
obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect
occurrences or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date
of such statements. Popular, Inc. is a full service financial
services provider based in Puerto Rico with operations in Puerto
Rico, the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America. As the
leading financial institution in Puerto Rico, with over 300
branches and offices, the Corporation offers retail and commercial
banking services through its principal banking subsidiary, Banco
Popular de Puerto Rico, as well as auto and equipment leasing and
financing, mortgage loans, consumer lending, investment banking,
broker-dealer and insurance services through specialized
subsidiaries. In the United States, the Corporation operates Banco
Popular North America ("BPNA"), including its wholly-owned
subsidiary E-LOAN, and Popular Financial Holdings ("PFH"). BPNA is
a community bank providing a broad range of financial services and
products to the communities it serves. BPNA operates branches in
New York, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Florida and Texas.
E-LOAN offers online consumer direct lending and provides an online
platform to raise deposits for BPNA. PFH primarily continues to
carry a maturing loan portfolio and operates a mortgage loan
servicing unit. The Corporation, through its transaction processing
company, EVERTEC, continues to use its expertise in technology as a
competitive advantage in its expansion throughout the United
States, the Caribbean and Latin America, as well as internally
servicing many of its subsidiaries' system infrastructures and
transactional processing businesses. The Corporation is exporting
its 114 years of experience through these regions while continuing
its commitment to meeting the needs of retail and business clients
through innovation, and to fostering growth in the communities it
serves. DATASOURCE: Popular, Inc. CONTACT: Investor Relations,
Jorge A. Junquera, Chief Financial Officer, Senior Executive Vice
President, +1-787-754-1685, or Media Relations, Teruca Rullan,
Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, +1-787-281-5170,
or +1-917-679-3596 (mobile), both of Popular, Inc. Web site:
http://www.popularinc.com/
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