First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Kelly Motta: Got it. Super helpful. Maybe last question for me, I feel like after last quarter, there was an investor focus on particularly consumer in Puerto Rico, with you and your peers talking about some normalization there. But it looks like you guys were able to realize a nice recovery on some previously charged off loans. Just wondering if you could talk more about the health of the Puerto Rican consumer at this stage as well as any kind of puts and takes as we look ahead as to how we should be thinking about the normalization of credit and this environment?

Aurelio Aleman-Bermudez: Yes, I think we’ll be covering this topic since last year actually expecting that to happen early last year. The excess liquidity provided by the pandemic into the consumer accounts was moving out or being utilized. So, that started to happen more in the second half of last year. Still — normalization still getting to pre-pandemic levels. We expect that to last a few more quarters, not necessarily a lot longer, primarily on the unsecured components of credit cards and personal loans, which is very similar to what happened in the U.S. industry banks, which is driven by what we believe utilization liquidity by score levels that were artificially higher, around the writing in some of the cases. So, we expect that to continue the — I think it’s important to understanding the consumer side, those losses are reflected immediately.

It’s a very short cycle. NPAs are not accumulated. So, whatever you see in the short-term, you will see also in the recovery, in a very short-term.

Kelly Motta: Got it, helpful. I’ll step back. Thank you so much for the time.

Aurelio Aleman-Bermudez: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. We have no further questions on the call. So, I will hand the floor back to Ramon.

Ramon Rodriguez: Thank you to everyone for participating in today’s call. We will be attending Wells Fargo Financial Services Conference in Chicago on May 14th. We look forward to seeing a number of you at this event and we greatly appreciate your continued support. Have a great day. Thank you.

Operator: This concludes today’s conference call. Thank you all very much for– [abrupt end]