First BanCorp Reports End of Fed C&D Order

First BanCorp, San Juan, Puerto Rico, has announced the termination of a cease-and-desist order by the Federal Reserve Board related to mortgage-related transactions with Doral Financial Corp. and R&G Financial Corp., both of San Juan. Under the order, dated March 16, 2006, First BanCorp took actions that brought about "a substantial reduction of the credit risk concentration" in connection with loans to Doral and R&G, First BanCorp said. The Fed's order "was the last remaining regulatory action imposed on the corporation as a result of the restatement process, and as of today all regulatory orders previously imposed have been terminated," said Luis M. Beauchamp, First BanCorp's chairman and chief executive officer. The pertinent mortgage transactions were initially reported as loan purchases by Doral and R&G, but it was later determined that they should have been accounted for as secured loans because they were not true sales.