Oriental Financial reports 3Q results

SAN JUAN\

Oriental Financial Group today announced results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2012.

Income per common share ( diluted) of $ 0.35 increased 2.9% from $0.34 in the preceding 2012 quarter and was $0.35 in the year ago quarter.

Income available to common shareholders of $14.7 million increased 7.0% from the preceding 2012 quarter and declined 5.5% from the year ago quarter.

Results included $1.8 million in dividends declared during third quarter 2012 on the $84 million convertible preferred stock issued earlier in the quarter. The capital raise was related to the acquisition of BBVA's Puerto Rico operations (BBVA PR), which is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Book value per common share of $15.40 at September 30, 2012 compared to $15.39 at June 30, 2012 and $15.05 at September 30, 2011. Cash dividend per common share of $0.06 was 20% greater than in the year ago quarter. "During the quarter, we posted improvements in almost every key area, including higher interest income from loans and securities, increased loan production, lower cost of funds, and stronger credit quality," said José Rafael Fernández, President, Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of the Board. At the same time, we continued to prepare for the BBVA PR acquisition, in order to create a market leading bank that is strongly capitalized, locally controlled and totally focused on Puerto Rico. In addition to raising capital through the issuance of preferred stock, we took advantage of market conditions later in the quarter to initiate our previously announced deleveraging plan ahead of schedule, by selling $532.4 million of our investment securities and cancelling $400 million of our repurchase agreement funding. In addition, we have been working closely with BBVA PR's highly experienced management and staff to ensure a smooth transition for both our teams. In sum, we are continuing to move in the right direction for achieving our goals for 2012 and beyond. With the local economy showing signs of stabilization.