First BanCorp wraps $402M credit card portfolio purchase

First BanCorp, the parent company of FirstBank Puerto Rico, announced it completed Thursday its purchase of a $402 million FirstBank-branded consumer credit card portfolio from FIA Card Services, N.A. and an affiliate.
Last month, FirstBank announced it had signed a definitive agreement with FIA Card Services, N.A. to acquire the FirstBank-branded credit card portfolio.
“We are pleased to announce the completion of our credit card portfolio purchase from FIA Card Services,” said First BanCorp President Aurelio Alemán. “This transaction, which increases the corporation’s earnings, deepens our relationship with our customers and enables us to continue to expand in the markets we serve with a broader base of customers.”
Customers will not be impacted as FIA Card Services, N.A will continue to service the accounts under an interim servicing agreement into 2013, when FirstBank will integrate credit card servicing into its customer service environment, the financial institution said.