Popular, Inc. (Banco Popular de Puerto Rico) - 10-Q quarterly report FY

 

Commission File Number: 000-13818

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer þ                          Accelerated filer o    Non-accelerated filer o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date: Common Stock $6.00 par value 280,286,329 shares outstanding as of October 31, 2007.

The information included in this Form 10-Q contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may relate to the Corporation’s financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business, including, but not limited to, statements with respect to the adequacy of the allowance for loan losses, market risk and the impact of interest rate changes, capital markets conditions, capital adequacy and liquidity, and the effect of legal proceedings and new accounting standards on the Corporation’s financial condition and results of operations. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature are forward-looking, and the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continues,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “project” and similar expressions and future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “might,” “can,” “may,” or similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements.

These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties, estimates and assumptions by management that are difficult to predict. Various factors, some of which are beyond the Corporation’s control, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to: the rate of growth in the economy, as well as general business and economic conditions; changes in interest rates, as well as the magnitude of such changes; the fiscal and monetary policies of the federal government and its agencies; the relative strength or weakness of the consumer and commercial credit sectors and of the real estate markets; the performance of the stock and bond markets; competition in the financial services industry; possible legislative, tax or regulatory changes; and difficulties in combining the operations of acquired entities.

Moreover, the outcome of legal proceedings, as discussed in “Part II, Item I. Legal Proceedings,” is inherently uncertain and depends on judicial interpretations of law and the findings of regulators, judges and juries.

All forward-looking statements included in this document are based upon information available to the Corporation as of the date of this document, and we assume no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited consolidated financial statements.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited consolidated financial statements.

Popular, Inc. (the “Corporation” or “Popular”) is a diversified, publicly-owned financial holding company subject to the supervision and regulation of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The Corporation 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, the Corporation offers retail and commercial banking services through its principal banking subsidiary, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico (“BPPR”), 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 has established a community banking franchise providing a broad range of financial services and products to the communities it serves. Banco Popular North America (“BPNA”) operates branches in New York, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Florida and Texas, while E-LOAN provides online consumer direct lending for obtaining mortgage, auto and home equity loans, and provides an online platform to raise deposits for BPNA. Popular Financial Holdings (“PFH”) offers mortgage and personal loans and provides mortgage loan servicing. 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. Note 21 to the consolidated financial statements presents further information about the Corporation’s business segments.

The unaudited consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Popular, Inc. and its majority-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The Corporation also consolidates the variable interest entities for which it is the primary beneficiary and, therefore, will absorb the majority of the entity’s expected losses, receive a majority of the entity’s expected returns, or both. These unaudited statements are, in the opinion of management, a fair statement of the results for the periods reported and include all necessary adjustments, all of a normal recurring nature, for a fair statement of such results. Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior period consolidated financial statements to conform to the 2007 presentation.

The statement of condition data as of December 31, 2006 was derived from audited financial statements. Certain information and note disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America have been condensed or omitted from the statements presented as of September 30, 2007, December 31, 2006 and September 30, 2006 pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, these financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements of the Corporation for the year ended December 31, 2006, included in the Corporation’s 2006 Annual Report. The Corporation’s Form 10-K filed on March 1, 2007 incorporates by reference the 2006 Annual Report.

On October 22, 2007, the Corporation announced the signing of a definitive agreement to sell the six Houston retail bank branches of BPNA to Prosperity Bank. Prosperity Bank has agreed to pay a premium of 10.10% for approximately $140 million in deposits, as well as purchase certain loans and other assets attributable to the branches. Prosperity Bank also agreed to retain all branch-based employees of BPNA’s Houston locations as part of the transaction. BPNA will continue to operate its mortgage business based in Houston as well as its franchise and small business lending activities in Texas. BPNA will also continue to maintain a retail branch in Arlington, Texas. The agreement was approved by the Boards of Directors of both banks and is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2007. The transaction is subject to certain customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals.

On November 5, 2007, the Board of Directors of Popular adopted a Restructuring Plan for its internet financial services subsidiary E-LOAN (the “E-LOAN’s Restructuring Plan”).

Considering the losses in the operation of E-LOAN, market conditions and other factors, the Board of Directors approved a substantial reduction of marketing and personnel costs at E-LOAN. This change will include concentrating marketing investment toward the internet and the origination of first mortgage loans that are actually being sold to Government Sponsored Entities (GSEs). The E-LOAN Restructuring Plan continues to promote the expansion of the Internet deposit gathering initiative with BPNA.

The cost-control plan initiative at the E-LOAN subsidiary will result in the elimination of approximately 513 positions out of a total of 771 and will be substantially accomplished in the fourth quarter of 2007. As a result of the E-LOAN Restructuring Plan, operating expenses are expected to be reduced by approximately $79 million for 2008. E-LOAN’s estimated net losses for the year ended December 31, 2008 are expected to decline by $28 million, resulting principally from the reduction in operating expenses, partially offset by the related tax impact and by lower volume of loan originations in certain business channels that are impacted by this plan.

It is expected that this Plan will result in estimated restructuring charges as follows:

These estimates are preliminary as management continues to work on the E-LOAN Restructuring Plan. Further, the Corporation is currently evaluating whether this change in E-LOAN’s business model could result in impairment in the value of its recorded goodwill and trademark. As of September 30, 2007, E-LOAN’s accounting records reflect $164 million in goodwill and $64 million in trademark. The impairment valuation analysis is to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2007. Any impairment charge will not impact the regulatory capital ratios of the Corporation or its liquidity since it would be a non-cash transaction.

In February 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 155, “Accounting for Certain Hybrid Financial Instruments — an amendment of FASB Statements No. 133 and 140.” SFAS No. 155 permits companies to elect, on a transaction-by-transaction basis, to apply a fair value measurement to hybrid financial instruments that contain an embedded derivative that would otherwise require bifurcation under SFAS No. 133. This statement also clarifies which interest-only strips and principal-only strips are not subject to the requirements of SFAS No. 133, establishes a requirement to evaluate interests in securitized financial assets to identify interests that are freestanding derivatives or that are hybrid financial instruments that contain an embedded derivative requiring bifurcation, clarifies that concentrations of credit risk in the form of subordination are not embedded derivatives, and amends SFAS No. 140 to eliminate the prohibition on a qualifying special-purpose entity from holding a derivative financial instrument that pertains to a beneficial interest other than another derivative financial instrument. The adoption of SFAS No. 155 in 2007 did not have a material impact on the Corporation’s consolidated financial statements during the nine months ended September 30, 2007.

SFAS No. 156 requires that all separately recognized servicing assets and liabilities be initially measured at fair value, if practicable. For subsequent measurements, SFAS No. 156 permits companies to choose between using an amortization method or a fair value measurement method for reporting purposes by class of servicing asset or liability. The Corporation adopted SFAS No. 156 in January 2007. The Corporation elected the fair value measurement for mortgage servicing rights (“MSRs”). Servicing rights associated with Small Business Administration (“SBA”) commercial loans will continue to be accounted for at the lower of cost or market method. The initial impact of adoption of the fair value measurement for MSRs during the first quarter of 2007 was included as a cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle directly in stockholders’ equity and resulted in a net increase in stockholders’ equity of approximately $9.6 million, net of deferred taxes. Refer to Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements for required SFAS No. 156 disclosures.

In 2006, the FASB issued FIN 48, which clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s financial statements in accordance with SFAS No. 109. FIN 48 prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. This Interpretation also provides guidance on recognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure, and transition related to income taxes. The accounting provisions of FIN 48 were effective for the Corporation beginning in the first quarter of 2007. Based on management’s assessment, there was no impact on retained earnings as of January 1, 2007 due to the initial application of the provisions of FIN 48. Also, as a result of the implementation, the Corporation did not recognize any change in the liability for unrecognized tax benefits. Refer to Note 14 to the consolidated financial statements for further information on the impact of FIN 48.

EITF 06-03 provides that the presentation of taxes assessed by a governmental authority that is directly imposed on a revenue-producing transaction between a seller and a customer on either a gross basis (included in revenues and costs) or on a net basis (excluded from revenues) is an accounting policy decision that should be disclosed. The Corporation adopted the EITF 06-03 guidance in the first quarter of 2007. The Corporation’s accounting policy is to account on a net basis for the taxes collected from customers and remitted to governmental authorities on a net basis. The corresponding amounts recognized in the consolidated financial statements are not significant.

EITF 06-5 focuses on how an entity should determine the “amount that could be realized under the insurance contract” at the balance sheet date in applying FTB 85-4, and whether the determination should be on an individual or group policy basis. At the September 2006 meeting, the Task Force affirmed as a final consensus that the cash surrender value and any additional amounts provided by the contractual terms of the insurance policy that are realizable at the balance sheet date should be considered in determining the amount that could be realized under FTB 85-4, and any amounts that are not immediately payable in cash to the policyholder should be discounted to their present value. Additionally, the Task Force affirmed as a final consensus the tentative conclusion that in determining “the amount that could be realized,” companies should assume that policies will be surrendered on an individual-by-individual basis, rather than surrendering the entire group policy. Also, the Task Force reached a consensus that contractual limitations on the ability to surrender a policy do not affect the amount to be reflected under FTB 85-4, but, if significant, the nature of those restrictions should be disclosed. The Corporation adopted the EITF 06-5 guidance in the first quarter of 2007 and as a result recorded a $0.9 million cumulative effect adjustment to beginning retained earnings (reduction of capital) for the existing bank-owned life insurance arrangement.

SFAS No. 157, issued in September 2006, defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value and requires enhanced disclosures about fair value measurements. SFAS No. 157 requires companies to disclose the fair value of their financial instruments according to a fair value hierarchy. The fair value hierarchy ranks the quality and reliability of the information used to determine fair values. Financial assets carried at fair value will be classified and disclosed in one of the three categories in accordance with the hierarchy. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are: (1) quoted market prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets; (2) observable market-based inputs or unobservable inputs that are corroborated by market data; and (3) unobservable inputs that are not corroborated by market data. SFAS No. 157 is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2007, and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Corporation will adopt the provisions of SFAS No. 157 commencing with the first quarter of 2008. The Corporation is evaluating the impact that this accounting pronouncement may have on its consolidated financial statements and disclosures.

In February 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 159, which provides companies with an option to report selected financial assets and liabilities at fair value. The election to measure a financial asset or liability at fair value can be made on an instrument-by-instrument basis and is irrevocable. The difference between the carrying amount and the fair value at the election date is recorded as a transition adjustment to opening retained earnings. Subsequent changes in fair value are recognized in earnings. The statement also establishes presentation and disclosure requirements designed to facilitate comparisons between companies that choose different measurement attributes for similar types of assets and liabilities. The new statement does not eliminate disclosure requirements included in other accounting standards, including requirements for disclosures about fair value measurements included in FASB Statements No. 157, “Fair Value Measurements,” and No. 107,“Disclosures about Fair Value of Financial Instrument.” SFAS No. 159 is effective as of the beginning of an entity’s first fiscal year beginning after November 15, 2007. Early adoption is permitted as of the beginning of the previous fiscal year provided that the entity makes that choice in the first 120 days of that fiscal year and also elects to apply the provisions of SFAS No. 157. The Corporation will adopt the provisions of SFAS No. 159 commencing in January 2008. Management is evaluating the impact that this accounting standard may have on its consolidated financial statements and disclosures.

In April 2007, the FASB issued Staff Position FSP FIN No. 39-1 which defines “right of setoff” and specifies what conditions must be met for a derivative contract to qualify for this right of setoff. It also addresses the applicability of a right of setoff to derivative instruments and clarifies the circumstances in which it is appropriate to offset amounts recognized for those instruments in the statement of financial position. In addition, this FSP permits the offsetting of fair value amounts recognized for multiple derivative instruments executed with the same counterparty under a master netting arrangement and fair value amounts recognized for the right to reclaim cash collateral (a receivable) or the obligation to return cash collateral (a payable) arising from the same master netting arrangement as

the derivative instruments. This interpretation is effective for fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2007, with early application permitted. The adoption of FSP FIN No. 39-1 is not expected to have a material impact on the Corporation’s consolidated financial statements and disclosures.

The Statement of Position (“SOP”) 07-01 issued in June 2007 provides guidance for determining whether an entity is within the scope of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (“AICPA”) Audit and Accounting Guide for Investment Companies (“the AICPA Guide”). Additionally, it provides guidance as to whether a parent company or an equity method investor can apply the specialized industry accounting principles of the AICPA Guide. SOP 07-01 is effective for fiscal years beginning on or after December 15, 2007. On October 17, 2007, the FASB agreed to propose an indefinite delay of the effective dates of SOP 07-01 and, for entities that meet the definition of an “investment company” in SOP 07-01, of FSP FIN 46(R)-7, “Application of FASB Interpretation No. 46(R) to Investment Companies”. The proposed delays, which will be exposed for comment for 30 days, will enable the FASB to add a project to its technical agenda to address the implementation issues that have arisen and possibly revise SOP 07-01. Until that occurs, affected entities should continue to follow existing guidance. Nevertheless, management is evaluating the impact, if any, that the adoption of SOP 07-01 may have on its consolidated financial statements and disclosures.

In May 2007, the FASB issued Staff Position FSP FIN No. 46 (R) – 7 , which amends the scope of the exception to FIN No. 46 (R) to indicate that investments accounted for at fair value in accordance with the specialized accounting guidance in the AICPA Guide, are not subject to consolidation under FIN No. 46 (R). This interpretation is effective for fiscal years beginning on or after December 15, 2007. Management is evaluating the impact, if any, that the adoption of this interpretation may have on its consolidated financial statements and disclosures. Also, management is considering the guidance of SOP 07-01 which was previously described that considers an indefinite delay on its implementation until further notification by the FASB.

The Corporation’s subsidiary banks are required by federal and state regulatory agencies to maintain average reserve balances with the Federal Reserve Bank or with a correspondent bank. Those required average reserve balances were approximately $588 million at September 30, 2007 (December 31, 2006 — $621 million; September 30, 2006 — $591 million). Cash and due from banks as well as other short-term, highly-liquid securities are used to cover the required average reserve balances.

In compliance with rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, at September 30, 2007, the Corporation had securities with a market value of $397 thousand (December 31, 2006 - $445 thousand; September 30, 2006 — $445 thousand) segregated in a special reserve bank account for the benefit of brokerage customers of its broker-dealer subsidiary. These securities are classified in the consolidated statement of condition within the other trading securities category.

As required by the Puerto Rico International Banking Center Law, at September 30, 2007, December 31, 2006, and September 30, 2006, the Corporation maintained separately for its two international banking entities (“IBEs”), $600 thousand in time deposits, equally divided for the two IBEs, which were considered restricted assets.

As part of a line of credit facility with a financial institution, at September 30, 2007, the Corporation maintained restricted cash of $1.9 million as collateral (December 31, 2006 — $1.9 million; September 30, 2006 — $1.9 million). The cash is being held in certificates of deposits which mature in less than 90 days. The line of credit is used to support letters of credit.

Certain securities and loans were pledged to secure public and trust deposits, assets sold under agreements to repurchase, borrowings and other available credit facilities. The classification and carrying amount of the Corporation’s pledged assets, in which the secured parties are not permitted to sell or repledge the collateral, were as follows:

Pledged securities and loans in which the creditor has the right by custom or contract to repledge are presented separately in the consolidated statements of condition.

The amortized cost, gross unrealized gains and losses and approximate market value (or fair value for certain investment securities where no market quotations are available) of investment securities available-for-sale as of September 30, 2007, December 31, 2006 and September 30, 2006 were as follows:

The table below shows the Corporation’s gross unrealized losses and market value of investment securities available-for-sale, aggregated by investment category and length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position, at September 30, 2007, December 31, 2006 and September 30, 2006.

At September 30, 2007, “Obligations of Puerto Rico, States and political subdivisions” include approximately $55 million in Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Appropriation Bonds (“Appropriation Bonds”) the rating on which was downgraded in May 2006 by Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) to Ba1, one notch below investment grade. Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”), another nationally-recognized credit rating agency, rated the Appropriation Bonds BBB-, which is still considered investment grade. As of September 30, 2007, these Appropriation Bonds represented approximately $2.2 million in unrealized losses in the Corporation’s available-for-sale investment securities portfolio. The Corporation is closely monitoring the political and economic situation of the Island as part of its evaluation of its available-for-sale portfolio for any declines in value that management may consider being other-than-temporary.

Management has the intent and ability to hold these investments for a reasonable period of time for a forecasted recovery of fair value up to (or beyond) the cost of these investments.

The unrealized loss positions of available-for-sale securities at September 30, 2007, except for the obligations of the Puerto Rico government described above are primarily associated with U.S. government sponsored entities, and to a lesser extent, U.S. Treasury obligations and U.S. Agency and government sponsored-issued mortgage-backed securities and collateralized mortgage obligations. The vast majority of these securities are rated the equivalent of AAA by the major rating agencies. The investment portfolio is structured primarily with highly-liquid securities, which possess a large and efficient secondary market. Valuations are performed at least on a quarterly basis using third party providers and dealer quotes. Management believes that the unrealized losses in these available-for-sale securities at September 30, 2007 are temporary and are substantially related to market interest rate fluctuations and not to the deterioration in the creditworthiness of the issuers. Also, management has the intent and ability to hold these investments for a reasonable period of time for a forecasted recovery of fair value up to (or beyond) the cost of these investments.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2007, the Corporation recognized through earnings approximately $32.7 million in losses on residual interests classified as available-for-sale ($2.0 million for the third quarter of 2007) and $7.6 million in losses on equity securities that management considered to be other-than-temporarily impaired. The equity securities that generated this other-than-temporary impairment in the first quarter of 2007 were sold in the second quarter of 2007.

The following table states the names of issuers and the aggregate amortized cost and market value of the securities of such issuer (includes available-for-sale and held-to-maturity securities), when the aggregate amortized cost of such securities exceeds 10% of stockholders’ equity. This information excludes securities of the U.S. Government agencies and corporations. Investments in obligations issued by a state of the U.S. and its political subdivisions and agencies, which are payable and secured by the same source of revenue or taxing authority, other than the U.S. Government, are considered securities of a single issuer.

The amortized cost, gross unrealized gains and losses and approximate market value (or fair value for certain investment securities where no market quotations are available) of investment securities held-to-maturity as of September 30, 2007, December 31, 2006 and September 30, 2006 were as follows:

The following table shows the Corporation’s gross unrealized losses and fair value of investment securities held-to-maturity, aggregated by investment category and length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position, at September 30, 2007, December 31, 2006 and September 30, 2006: