First BanCorp Announces Payment of Interest Accrued on Trust Preferred Securities

First BanCorp (the “Corporation”) (NYSE: FBP), the bank holding company for FirstBank Puerto Rico, announced today that it had received regulatory approval to bring current the unpaid interest on its $216 million of trust preferred securities outstanding. The Corporation had elected to defer the interest payments that were due in quarterly periods since March 2012. The aggregate amount of payments deferred and accrued through March 31, 2016 plus the interest for the second quarter of 2016 approximates $31.2 million. Payments will be made on their corresponding due dates of June 17, 2016 and June 20, 2016. The Corporation is still operating under a Written Agreement with the Federal Reserve. The Written Agreement provides that prior written approval from the Federal Reserve is required to declare or pay any dividends or make any distributions of interest, principal or other sums on subordinated debentures or trust-preferred securities. No assurances can be made that the Corporation will not decide to defer future payments. Dividends on preferred shares remain suspended.

About First BanCorp

First BanCorp. is the parent corporation of FirstBank Puerto Rico, a state-chartered commercial bank with operations in Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Florida, and of FirstBank Insurance Agency. Among the subsidiaries of FirstBank Puerto Rico are First Federal Finance Corp. and First Express, both small loan companies, and FirstBank Puerto Rico Securities, a broker-dealer subsidiary. First BanCorp’s shares of common stock trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol FBP. Additional information about First BanCorp. may be found at www.1firstbank.com.

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