‘The Banker’ names Banco Popular ‘Bank of the Year’
Banco Popular nabbed "Best Bank" honor.
Despite the ups and downs it had in 2010, Banco Popular has been selected Puerto Rico’s “Bank of the Year” by “The Banker” magazine, a highly respected publication in circulation since 1926 and run by the Financial Times.
The awards recognize the world’s outstanding financial institutions every year.
In its review of Popular’s performance in 2010, “The Banker” noted it had raised $1.5 billion in capital, sold its majority participation in technology and processing subsidiary Evertec for $600 million, and bid for the defunct Westerbank’s $2.5 billion in deposits and $9.1 billion in assets that it absorbed in about three months.
“Execution was key and credit has to go to Popular for closing these deals successfully; and closing 2010 in profit too, after the previous year’s losses,” the publication said.
Upon thanking the publication for the award, Banco Popular CEO Richard Carrión said “the best is yet to come.”
“[We plan to] finish off [work on] any remaining legacy assets, focusing on growing portfolios – hopefully the economy will be a little less hostile than it has been, particularly in Puerto Rico,” he said. “[We will] continue to work on U.S. operations, and look at further efficiencies in Puerto Rico’s operations.
The awards will be handed out in London.
I love this bank!