4 local banks make Forbes’ ‘best in Americas’ list
Four of Puerto Rico’s main banks have made it into the Forbes annual ranking. (Credit: © Mauricio Pascual)
Four Puerto Rico-based banks again made it into this year’s “Best Banks in America” ranking released by Forbes magazine, with Oriental Bank receiving the highest rating among its peers.
The list was published for the sixth consecutive year and includes the list of top 100 banks listed on the stock market. Oriental ranked 39 on the list, while FirstBancorp, took the 86th spot, Popular, ranked 90, and Doral Financial just made it into the list in the 100th slot.
The metrics for listing the banks included return on average equity; net interest margin; nonperforming loans (NPLs) as a percentage of loans; nonperforming assets as a percentage of assets; reserves as a percentage of NPLs; two capital ratios (Tier 1 and risk-based) and leverage ratio, according to Forbest. The data are provided by SNL Financial and Factset Research Systems and uses the information through Sept. 30.
“We are very proud with this result because it once again reaffirms that our strategic plan and the prudent decisions of our management team have directly contributed to our strength,” said Oriental CEO José Rafael Fernández.
“We recognize that’s critical not only for us as a company but for our shareholders, customers and the island’s economic system,” he said.
Forbes has ranked the 100 largest publicly traded banks and thrifts each year since 2009.
