OFG BANCORP - Annual Report: 2020 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10-K

☑ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2020

or

☐TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 For the transition period from ______________ to ______________

Commission File No. 001-12647

OFG Bancorp

Incorporated in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, IRS Employer Identification No. 66-0538893

Principal Executive Offices:

254 Muñoz Rivera Avenue

San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918

Telephone Number: (787) 771-6800

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐No ☑

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐No ☑

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☑No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☑No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Emerging Growth Company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☑

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐No ☑

The aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates of OFG Bancorp (the “Company”) was approximately $686.4 million as of June 30, 2020 based upon 51,342,232 shares outstanding and the reported closing price of $13.37 on the New York Stock Exchange on that date.

As of January 31, 2021, the Company had 51,393,477 shares of common stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the Company’s definitive proxy statement relating to the 2021 annual meeting of shareholders are incorporated herein by reference in response to Items 10 through 14 of Part III, except for certain information set forth herein under Item 12.

OFG Bancorp

FORM 10-K

For the Year Ended December 31, 2020

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

The information included in this annual report on Form 10-K contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may relate to the financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business of OFG Bancorp (“we,” “our,” “us” or “Oriental”), including, but not limited to, statements with respect to the adequacy of the allowance for loan losses, delinquency trends, market risk and the impact of interest rate changes, capital markets conditions, capital adequacy and liquidity, and the effect of legal proceedings and new accounting standards on Oriental’s financial condition and results of operations. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature are forward-looking, and the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continues,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “project” and similar expressions and future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “might,” “can,” “may,” or similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements.

These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties, estimates and assumptions by management that are difficult to predict. Various factors, some of which by their nature are beyond Oriental’s control, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to:

 the rate of growth in the economy and employment levels, as well as general business and economic conditions;

 changes in interest rates, as well as the magnitude of such changes;

 a credit default by municipalities of the government of Puerto Rico;

 amendments to the fiscal plan approved by the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico;

 determinations in the court-supervised debt-restructuring process under Title III of PROMESA for the Puerto Rico government and all of its agencies, including some of its public corporations;

 unforeseen or catastrophic events, including extreme weather events, other natural disasters, man-made disasters or the emergence of pandemics, which could cause a disruption in our operations or other adverse consequences for our business;

 the impact of property, credit and other losses in Puerto Rico as a result of hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural disasters;

 the amount of government, private and philanthropic financial assistance for the reconstruction of Puerto Rico’s critical infrastructure, which suffered catastrophic damages caused by hurricane Maria in 2017 and earthquakes in 2020;

 the pace and magnitude of Puerto Rico’s economic recovery;

 the fiscal and monetary policies of the federal government and its agencies;

 changes in federal bank regulatory and supervisory policies, including required levels of capital;

 the relative strength or weakness of the commercial and consumer credit sectors and the real estate market in Puerto Rico;

 the performance of the stock and bond markets;

 competition in the financial services industry;

 possible legislative, tax or regulatory changes;

 the emergence of widespread health emergencies or pandemics, including the magnitude and duration of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the United States, Puerto Rico, and/or global economy, financial market conditions and our business, results of operations and financial condition; and

 the impact of the actions taken by federal and local governmental authorities to try and contain the Covid-19 virus and its variants or address the impact of the virus on the United States and Puerto Rico economy (including, without limitation, the CARES Act), and the resulting effect of all of such items on our operations, liquidity and capital position, and on the financial condition of our borrowers and other customers.

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Other possible events or factors that could cause results or performance to differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements include the following: negative economic conditions that adversely affect the general economy, housing prices, the job market, consumer confidence and spending habits which may affect, among other things, the level of non-performing assets, charge-offs and provision expense; changes in interest rates and market liquidity which may reduce interest margins, impact funding sources and affect the ability to originate and distribute financial products in the primary and secondary markets; adverse movements and volatility in debt and equity capital markets; changes in market rates and prices which may adversely impact the value of financial assets and liabilities; risk of impairment of investment securities, goodwill, other intangible assets or deferred tax assets; liabilities resulting from litigation and regulatory investigations; changes in accounting standards, rules and interpretations; increased competition; Oriental’s ability to grow its core businesses; decisions to downsize, sell or close units or otherwise change Oriental’s business mix; and management’s ability to identify and manage these and other risks.

All forward-looking statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K are based upon information available to Oriental as of the date of this report, and other than as required by law, including the requirements of applicable securities laws, Oriental assumes no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS

General

Oriental is a publicly-owned financial holding company incorporated on June 14, 1996 under the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, providing a full range of banking and financial services through its subsidiaries. Oriental is subject to the provisions of the U.S. Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended, (the “BHC Act”) and accordingly, subject to the supervision and regulation of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve Board”).

Oriental provides comprehensive banking and financial services to its clients through a complete range of banking and financial solutions, including commercial, consumer, auto, and mortgage lending; checking and savings accounts; financial planning, insurance, financial services, and securities brokerage; and corporate and individual trust and retirement services. Oriental operates through three major business segments: Banking, Wealth Management, and Treasury, differentiating the Oriental brand through customer segmentation and innovative solutions, primarily in Puerto Rico and United States Virgin Islands (the “USVI”). Oriental provides these services through various subsidiaries, including a commercial bank, Oriental Bank (the "Bank"), a securities broker-dealer, Oriental Financial Services LLC (“Oriental Financial Services”), an insurance agency, Oriental Insurance, LLC (“Oriental Insurance”), a retirement plan administrator, Oriental Pension Consultants, Inc. (“OPC”), and a commercial lender, OFG USA LLC (“OFG USA”), which is a subsidiary of the Bank. All our subsidiaries are based in San Juan, Puerto Rico and the USVI, except for OPC which is based in Boca Raton, Florida, and OFG USA which is based in Cornelius, North Carolina. Oriental has 54 branches in Puerto Rico and 2 branches in the USVI. Oriental’s long-term goal is to strengthen its banking and financial services franchise by expanding its lending businesses, increasing the level of integration in the marketing and delivery of banking and financial services, maintaining effective asset-liability management, growing non-interest revenue from banking and financial services, and improving operating efficiencies.

Oriental’s strategy involves:

 Build relationships with customers by refining service delivery and providing innovative banking technologies for day-to-day customer transactions, and achieving sustainable levels of differentiation in the market;

 Further grow and improve performance in all operating areas;

 Continue to invest for the future in transforming our business model, further simplifying operations, improving efficiencies and enhancing our ability to serve customers;

 Focusing on greater growth in commercial and retail lending and wealth management services; and

 Implementing a broad ranging effort to instill in employees and make customers aware of Oriental’s determination to effectively serve and advise its customer base in a responsive and professional manner.

Together with a highly experienced group of senior and mid-level executives and the benefits from the acquisitions of Eurobank Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico operations of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (“BBVA”) and the Puerto Rico and USVI operations of The Bank of Nova Scotia (“BNS”), this strategy has resulted in sustained growth in Oriental’s deposit-taking activities, commercial, consumer and mortgage lending and financial service activities, allowing Oriental to distinguish itself in a highly competitive industry. Oriental is not immune from general and local financial and economic conditions. Past experience is not necessarily indicative of future performance but given market uncertainties and on a reasonable time horizon of three to five years, this strategy is expected to maintain its steady progress towards Oriental’s long-term goal.

Oriental’s principal funding sources are branch deposits, Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) advances, wholesale deposits, and subordinated capital notes. Through its branch network, Oriental Bank offers personal non-interest and interest-bearing checking accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”) and commercial non-interest bearing checking accounts. The FDIC insures the Bank’s deposit accounts up to applicable limits. Management makes retail deposit pricing decisions periodically, adjusting the rates paid on retail deposits in response to general market conditions and local competition. Pricing decisions take into account the rates being offered by other local banks, the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”), and mainland U.S. market interest rates.

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Significant Transactions – The Scotiabank PR & USVI Acquisition

On December 31, 2019, Oriental purchased from BNS all outstanding common stock of Scotiabank de Puerto Rico (“Scotiabank”) for an aggregate purchase price of $550 million. Immediately following the closing of such acquisition, Oriental merged Scotiabank de Puerto Rico with and into the Bank, with the Bank continuing as the surviving entity. As part of this transaction, the Bank also acquired the USVI banking operations of BNS through an acquisition of certain assets (including loans, ATMs and physical branch locations) and an assumption of certain liabilities (including deposits) for their net book value plus a $10 million premium on deposits. In addition, Oriental acquired certain loans and assumed certain liabilities, from BNS’s Puerto Rico branch for their net book value. As a result of the acquisition (the “Scotiabank PR & USVI Acquisition”), Oriental added $2.2 billion net loans and $3 billion dollars in core low-cost deposits with a bargain purchase gain of $7.7 million, including $7.3 million remeasurement adjustments during 2020, recorded as “Bargain purchase from Scotiabank PR & USVI Acquisition” in the consolidated statement of operations. The consolidated financial statements at December 31, 2020 and 2019 contemplate the effect of the Scotiabank PR & USVI Acquisition. Due to the acquisition closing occurring at 2019 year-end, Oriental’s consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2019 reflected Oriental’s pre-acquisition operations, except for $24.1 million acquisition related expenses, while the Statement of Financial Condition at December 31, 2019 reflected the newly acquired assets and liabilities.

During the year ended December 31, 2020, Oriental successfully completed the integration of the Scotiabank PR & USVI Acquisition and related cost-savings in the middle of a pandemic.

Segment Disclosure

Oriental has three reportable segments: Banking, Wealth Management, and Treasury. Management established the reportable segments based on the internal reporting used to evaluate performance and to assess where to allocate resources. Other factors such as Oriental’s organizational structure, nature of products, distribution channels and economic characteristics of the products or services were also considered in the determination of the reportable segments. Oriental measures the performance of these reportable segments based on pre-established annual goals involving different financial parameters such as net income, interest rate spread, loan production, and fees generated.

For detailed information regarding the performance of Oriental’s operating segments, please refer to Note 30 in Oriental’s accompanying consolidated financial statements.

Banking Activities

The Bank, Oriental’s main subsidiary, is a full-service Puerto Rico commercial bank with its main office located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Bank has 54 branches throughout Puerto Rico and 2 branches in the USVI. As an FDIC-insured Puerto Rico-chartered commercial bank, it is subject to examination by the FDIC and the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico (the “OCFI”). The Bank offers banking services such as commercial, consumer, and mortgage lending, savings and time deposit products, financial planning, and corporate and individual trust services, and capitalizes on its retail banking network to provide commercial and mortgage lending products to its clients. The Bank has an operating subsidiary, OFG USA, which is organized in Delaware. It also has three international banking entities (each an “IBE”) organized in Puerto Rico pursuant to the International Banking Center Regulatory Act of Puerto Rico, as amended (the “IBE Act”), two are units operating within the Bank, named Oriental Overseas and Oriental International (the “IBE Units”), and the other is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bank, named Oriental International Bank, Inc. (the “IBE Subsidiary”). The IBE Units and IBE Subsidiary offer the Bank certain Puerto Rico tax advantages, and their services are limited under Puerto Rico law to persons and assets/liabilities located outside of Puerto Rico.

Banking activities include the Bank’s branches and mortgage banking activities with traditional retail banking products such as deposits, commercial loans, consumer loans and mortgage loans. The Bank’s lending activities are primarily with consumers located in Puerto Rico and the USVI. The Bank’s lending transactions include a diversified number of industries and activities, all of which are encompassed within four main categories: commercial, consumer, mortgage and auto.

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Oriental’s mortgage banking activities are conducted through a division of the Bank. The mortgage banking activities include the origination of mortgage loans for the Bank’s own portfolio, the sale of loans directly into the secondary market or the securitization of conforming loans into mortgage-backed securities, and the purchase or assumption of the right to service loans originated by others. The Bank originates Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”) insured mortgages, Veterans Administration (“VA”) guaranteed mortgages, and Rural Housing Service (“RHS”) guaranteed loans that are primarily securitized for issuance of Government National Mortgage Association (“GNMA”) mortgage-backed securities which can be resold to individual or institutional investors in the secondary market. Conventional loans that meet the underwriting requirements for sale or exchange under standard Federal National Mortgage Association (the “FNMA”) or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (the “FHLMC”) programs are referred to as conforming mortgage loans and are also securitized for issuance of FNMA or FHLMC mortgage-backed securities. The Bank is an approved seller of FNMA and FHLMC mortgage loans for issuance of FNMA and FHLMC mortgage-backed securities. The Bank is also an approved issuer of GNMA mortgage-backed securities. The servicing of the residential mortgage loan portfolio acquired in 2012 as part of its acquisition of the Puerto Rico operations of BBVA (the “BBVAPR Acquisition”) is performed through a sub-servicer that owns the servicing rights to such loans. Oriental services the GNMA, FNMA, and FHLMC pools that it issues and the rest of its owned-residential mortgage loan portfolio.

Loan Underwriting

Auto loans: Oriental provides financing for the purchase of new or used motor vehicles. These loans are generated mainly through dealers authorized and approved by the auto credit department committee of Oriental. The auto credit department has the specialized structure and resources to provide the service required for this product according to market demands and trends. The auto loan credit policy establishes specific guidance and parameters for the underwriting and origination processes. Underwriting procedures, lending limits, interest rate approval, insurance coverage, Fair Isaac Corporation (“FICO”) score, and automobile brand restrictions are some parameters and internal controls implemented to ensure the quality and profitability of the auto loan portfolio. The proprietary credit scoring system is a fundamental part of the decision process.

Consumer loans: Consumer loans include personal loans, credit cards, lines of credit and other loans made by the Bank to individual borrowers. All loan originations must be underwritten in accordance with Oriental’s underwriting criteria and include an assessment of each borrower’s personal financial condition, including verification of income, assets, FICO score, and credit reports. The proprietary credit scoring system is a fundamental part of the decision process.

Residential mortgage loans: All loan originations, regardless of whether originated through Oriental’s retail banking network or purchased from third parties, must be underwritten in accordance with Oriental’s underwriting criteria, including loan-to-value ratios, borrower income qualifications, debt ratios and credit history, FICO score, investor requirements, and title insurance and property appraisal requirements. Oriental’s mortgage underwriting standards comply with the relevant guidelines set forth by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”), VA, FNMA, FHLMC, federal and Puerto Rico banking regulatory authorities, as applicable. Oriental’s underwriting personnel, while operating within Oriental’s loan offices, make underwriting decisions independent of Oriental’s mortgage loan origination personnel.

Commercial loans: Commercial loans include lines of credit and term facilities to finance business operations and to provide working capital for specific purposes, such as to finance the purchase of assets, equipment or inventory. Since a borrower’s cash flow from operations is generally the primary source of repayment, Oriental’s analysis of the credit risk focuses heavily on the borrower’s debt-repayment capacity. Commercial term loans generally have terms from one to five years, may be collateralized by the asset being acquired, real estate, or other available assets, and bear interest rates that float with the prime rate, LIBOR or another established index, or are fixed for the term of the loan. Lines of credit are extended to businesses based on an analysis of the financial strength and integrity of the borrowers and are generally secured primarily by real estate, accounts receivables or inventory, and have a maturity of one year or less. Such lines of credit bear an interest rate that floats with a base rate, the prime rate, LIBOR, or another established index.

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Sale of Loans and Securitization Activities

Oriental may engage in the sale or securitization of the residential mortgage loans that it originates. Oriental is an approved issuer of GNMA-guaranteed mortgage-backed securities which involves the packaging of FHA loans, RHS loans and VA loans into pools. Oriental can also act as issuer in the case of conforming conventional loans which involves grouping these types of loans into pools and issuing FNMA or FHLMC mortgage-backed securities. The issuance of mortgage-backed securities provides Oriental with the flexibility of either selling the security into the open market or retaining it on books. In the case of conforming conventional loans, Oriental may also sell such loans through the FNMA and FHLMC cash window programs.

Wealth Management Activities

Wealth management activities are generated by such businesses as securities brokerage, trust services, retirement planning, insurance, pension administration, and other financial services.

Oriental Financial Services, a Puerto Rico limited liability company, is Oriental’s subsidiary engaged in securities brokerage and investment advisory activities in accordance with Oriental’s strategy of providing fully integrated financial solutions, covering various investment alternatives such as tax-advantaged fixed income securities, mutual funds, stocks, and bonds to retail and institutional clients. It also offers separately-managed accounts and mutual fund asset allocation programs sponsored by unaffiliated professional asset managers. These services are designed to meet each client’s specific needs and preferences, including transaction-based pricing and asset-based fee pricing. It has managed and participated in public offerings and private placements of debt and equity securities in Puerto Rico and has engaged in municipal securities business with the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and its instrumentalities, municipalities, and public corporations. Oriental Financial Services, a member of FINRA and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, is a registered securities broker-dealer pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Oriental Financial Services does not carry customer accounts and is, accordingly, exempt from the Customer Protection Rule (SEC Rule 15c3-3). It clears securities transactions through Pershing LLC, a clearing agent that carries the accounts of its customers on a “fully disclosed” basis.

Oriental Insurance, a Puerto Rico limited liability company, is Oriental’s subsidiary engaged in insurance agency services. It provides Oriental with cross-marketing opportunities under the legal framework established by the financial modernization legislation. Oriental Insurance currently earns commissions by acting as a licensed insurance agent in connection with the issuance of insurance policies by unaffiliated insurance companies and continues to cross market its services to Oriental’s existing customer base.

OPC, a Florida corporation, is Oriental’s subsidiary engaged in the administration of retirement plans in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean.

Corporate and individual trust services are provided by Oriental Trust, the Bank’s trust division.

Treasury Activities

Treasury activities encompass all of the Company’s treasury-related functions. Oriental’s investment portfolio consists of mortgage-backed securities, obligations of U.S. government-sponsored agencies, U.S. Treasury securities and money market instruments. U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities, the largest component, consist principally of pools of residential mortgage loans that are made to consumers and could be either retained as AFS securities or resold in the form of pass-through certificates in the secondary market, the payment of interest and principal of those pools is guaranteed by GNMA, FNMA or FHLMC.

Market Area and Competition

The main geographic business and service area of Oriental is in Puerto Rico, where the banking market is highly competitive. Puerto Rico banks are subject to the same federal laws, regulations and supervision that apply to similar institutions in the U.S. Oriental also competes with brokerage firms with retail operations, credit unions, savings and loan cooperatives, small loan companies, insurance agencies, and mortgage banks in Puerto Rico. Oriental encounters intense competition in attracting and retaining deposits and in its consumer and commercial lending activities. Management believes that Oriental has been able to compete effectively for deposits and loans by offering a variety of transactional account products and loans with competitive terms, emphasizing the quality of its service. Puerto Rico has experienced a significant consolidation of commercial banks since 2010, which has created an environment for more rational loan and deposit pricing. Oriental’s ability to originate loans depends primarily on the services that it provides to its borrowers, in making prompt credit decisions, and on the rates and fees that it charges.

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Oriental is also developing new commercial relationships in the United States, as it launched in late 2017 the U.S. commercial loan program, generally consisting of purchases of loan participations in credit facilities to commercial borrowers in the U.S. mainland.

As part of the Scotiabank PR & USVI Acquisition on December 31, 2019, Oriental began to operate in the USVI with the intention to grow the business acquired in such jurisdiction.

Regulation and Supervision

General

Oriental is a financial holding company subject to supervision and regulation by the Federal Reserve Board under the BHC Act, as amended by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”). The qualification requirements and the process for a bank holding company that elects to be treated as a financial holding company requires that a bank holding company and all of the subsidiary banks controlled by it at the time of election must be and remain at all times “well capitalized” and “well managed.”

Oriental elected to be treated as a financial holding company as permitted by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. Under that law, if Oriental fails to meet the requirements for being a financial holding company and is unable to correct such deficiencies within certain prescribed time periods, the Federal Reserve Board could require Oriental to divest control of its depository institution subsidiary or alternatively cease conducting activities that are not permissible for bank holding companies that are not financial holding companies.

Financial holding companies may engage, directly or indirectly, in any activity that is determined to be (i) financial in nature or incidental to such financial activity, or (ii) complementary to a financial activity provided it does not pose a substantial risk to the safety and soundness of depository institutions or the financial system generally. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act specifically provides that the following activities have been determined to be “financial in nature”: (a) lending, trust and other banking activities; (b) insurance activities; (c) financial, investment or economic advisory services; (d) securitization of assets; (e) securities underwriting and dealing; (f) existing bank holding company domestic activities; (g) existing bank holding company foreign activities; and (h) merchant banking activities. A financial holding company may generally commence any activity, or acquire any company, that is financial in nature without prior approval of the Federal Reserve Board. As provided by the Dodd-Frank Act, a financial holding company may not acquire a company, without prior Federal Reserve Board approval, in a transaction in which the total consolidated assets to be acquired by the financial holding company exceed $10 billion.

In addition, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act specifically gives the Federal Reserve Board the authority, by regulation or order, to expand the list of financial or incidental activities, but requires consultation with the U.S. Treasury Department and gives the Federal Reserve Board authority to allow a financial holding company to engage in any activity that is complementary to a financial activity and does not pose a substantial risk to the safety and soundness of depository institutions or the financial system.

Oriental is required to file with the Federal Reserve Board and the SEC periodic reports and other information concerning its own business operations and those of its subsidiaries. In addition, Federal Reserve Board approval must also be obtained before a bank holding company acquires all or substantially all of the assets of another bank or merges or consolidates with another bank holding company. The Federal Reserve Board also has the authority to issue cease and desist orders against bank holding companies and their non-bank subsidiaries.

The Bank is regulated by various agencies in the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Its main regulators are the OCFI and the FDIC. The Bank is subject to extensive regulation and examination by the OCFI and the FDIC and is subject to the Federal Reserve Board’s regulation of transactions between the Bank and its affiliates. The Bank’s activities in the USVI are also subject to regulation and examination by the USVI Banking Board. The federal and Puerto Rico laws and regulations which are applicable to the Bank regulate, among other things, the scope of its business, its investments, its reserves against deposits, the timing of the availability of deposited funds, and the nature and amount of and collateral for certain loans. In addition to the impact of such regulations, commercial banks are affected significantly by the actions of the Federal Reserve Board as it attempts to control the money supply and credit availability in order to control inflation in the economy.

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Oriental’s mortgage banking business is subject to the rules and regulations of FHA, VA, RHS, FNMA, FHLMC, HUD and GNMA with respect to the origination, processing, servicing and selling of mortgage loans and the sale of mortgage-backed securities. Those rules and regulations, among other things, prohibit discrimination and establish underwriting guidelines which include provisions for inspections and appraisal reports, require credit reports on prospective borrowers and fix maximum loan amounts, and, with respect to VA loans, fix maximum interest rates. Mortgage origination activities are subject to, among others, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Truth-in-Lending Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder which, among other things, prohibit discrimination and require the disclosure of certain basic information to mortgagors concerning credit terms and settlement costs. Oriental is also subject to regulation by the OCFI with respect to, among other things, licensing requirements and maximum origination fees on certain types of mortgage loan products.

Oriental and its subsidiaries are subject to the rules and regulations of certain other regulatory agencies. Oriental Financial Services, as a registered broker-dealer, is subject to the supervision, examination and regulation of FINRA, the SEC, and the OCFI in matters relating to the conduct of its securities business, including record keeping and reporting requirements, supervision and licensing of employees, and obligations to customers. As a registered investment adviser, it is subject to the supervision, examination and regulation of the SEC in connection with its advisory activities and is subject to custody, disclosure, books and records, contractual and other requirements.

Oriental Insurance is subject to the supervision, examination and regulation of the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance of Puerto Rico in matters relating to insurance sales, including but not limited to, licensing of employees, sales practices, charging of commissions and reporting requirements.

Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

The Dodd-Frank Act implemented a variety of far-reaching changes and has been described as the most sweeping reform of the financial services industry since the 1930’s. It has a broad impact on the financial services industry, including significant regulatory and compliance changes, such as: (i) enhanced resolution authority of troubled and failing banks and their holding companies; (ii) enhanced lending limits strengthening the existing limits on a depository institution’s credit exposure to one borrower; (iii) increased capital and liquidity requirements; (iv) increased regulatory examination fees; (v) changes to assessments to be paid to the FDIC for federal deposit insurance; (vi) prohibiting bank holding companies, such as Oriental, from including in regulatory Tier 1 capital future issuances of trust preferred securities or other hybrid debt and equity securities; and (vii) numerous other provisions designed to improve supervision and oversight of, and strengthening safety and soundness for, the financial services sector. Additionally, the Dodd-Frank Act established a new framework for systemic risk oversight within the financial system to be distributed among new and existing federal regulatory agencies, including the Financial Stability Oversight Council, the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the FDIC. Further, the Dodd-Frank Act addresses many corporate governance and executive compensation matters that affect most U.S. publicly traded companies, including Oriental. A few provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act became effective immediately, while various provisions have become effective in stages. Many of the requirements called for in the Dodd-Frank Act have been implemented over time and most are subject to implementing regulations.

The Dodd-Frank Act also created a new consumer financial services regulator, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”), which assumed most of the consumer financial services regulatory responsibilities previously exercised by federal banking regulators and other agencies. The CFPB’s primary functions include the supervision of “covered persons” (broadly defined to include any person offering or providing a consumer financial product or service and any affiliated service provider) for compliance with federal consumer financial laws. It has primary authority to enforce the federal consumer financial laws, as well as exclusive authority to require reports and conduct examinations for compliance with such laws in the case of any insured depository institution with total assets of more than $10 billion and any affiliate thereof. The CFPB also has broad powers to prescribe rules applicable to a covered person or service provider in connection with any transaction with a consumer for a consumer financial product or service, or the offering of a consumer financial product or service.

Holding Company Structure

The Bank is subject to restrictions under federal laws that limit the transfer of funds to its affiliates (including Oriental), whether in the form of loans, other extensions of credit, investments or asset purchases, among others. Such transfers are limited to 10% of the transferring institution’s capital stock and surplus with respect to any affiliate (including Oriental), and, with respect to all affiliates, to an aggregate of 20% of the transferring institution’s capital stock and surplus. Furthermore, such loans and extensions of credit are required to be secured in specified amounts, carried out on an arm’s length basis, and consistent with safe and sound banking practices.

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Under the Dodd-Frank Act, a bank holding company, such as Oriental, must serve as a source of financial strength for any subsidiary depository institution. The term “source of financial strength” is defined as the ability of a company to provide financial assistance to its insured depository institution subsidiaries in the event of financial distress at such subsidiaries. This support may be required at times when, absent such requirement, the bank holding company might not otherwise provide such support. In the event of a bank holding company’s bankruptcy, any commitment by the bank holding company to a federal bank regulatory agency to maintain capital of a subsidiary bank will be assumed by the bankruptcy trustee and be entitled to a priority of payment. In addition, any capital loans by a bank holding company to any of its subsidiary banks are subordinate in right of payment to deposits and to certain other indebtedness of such subsidiary bank. The Bank is currently the only depository institution subsidiary of Oriental.

Since Oriental is a financial holding company, its right to participate in the assets of any subsidiary upon the latter’s liquidation or reorganization will be subject to the prior claims of the subsidiary’s creditors (including depositors in the case of the Bank) except to the extent that Oriental is a creditor with recognized claims against the subsidiary.

Dividend Restrictions

The principal source of funds for Oriental is the dividends from the Bank. The ability of the Bank to pay dividends on its common stock is restricted by the Puerto Rico Banking Act of 1933, as amended (the “Banking Act”), the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, as amended (the “FDIA”), and the FDIC regulations. In general terms, the Banking Act provides that when the expenditures of a bank are greater than its receipts, the excess of expenditures over receipts shall be charged against the undistributed profits of the bank and the balance, if any, shall be charged against the required reserve fund of the bank. If there is no sufficient reserve fund to cover such balance, in whole or in part, the outstanding amount shall be charged against the bank’s capital account. The Banking Act provides that until said capital has been restored to its original amount and the reserve fund to 20% of the original capital, the bank may not declare any dividends. In general terms, the FDIA and the FDIC regulations restrict the payment of dividends when a bank is undercapitalized, when a bank has failed to pay insurance assessments, or when there are safety and soundness concerns regarding a bank.

The payment of dividends by the Bank may also be affected by other regulatory requirements and policies, such as maintenance of adequate capital. If, in the opinion of the regulatory authority, a depository institution under its jurisdiction is engaged in, or is about to engage in, an unsafe or unsound practice (that, depending on the financial condition of the depository institution, could include the payment of dividends), such authority may require, after notice and hearing, that such depository institution cease and desist from such practice. The Federal Reserve Board has a policy statement that provides that an insured bank or bank holding company should not maintain its existing rate of cash dividends on common stock unless (i) the organization’s net income available to common shareholders over the past year has been sufficient to fully fund the dividends and (ii) the prospective rate of earnings retention appears consistent with the organization’s capital needs, asset quality, and overall financial condition. In addition, all insured depository institutions are subject to the capital-based limitations required by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (“FDICIA”).

Federal Home Loan Bank System

The FHLB system, of which the Bank is a member, consists of 12 regional FHLBs governed and regulated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The FHLB serves as a credit facility for member institutions within their assigned regions. They are funded primarily from proceeds derived from the sale of consolidated obligations of the FHLB system. They make loans (i.e., advances) to members in accordance with policies and procedures established by the FHLB and the boards of directors of each regional FHLB.

As a system member, the Bank is entitled to borrow from the FHLB of New York (the “FHLB-NY”) and is required to invest in FHLB membership and activity-based stock. The Bank must purchase membership stock equal to the greater of $1,000 or 0.15% of certain mortgage-related assets held by the Bank. The Bank is also required to purchase activity-based stock equal to 4.50% of outstanding advances to the Bank by the FHLB. The Bank is in compliance with the membership and activity-based stock ownership requirements described above. All loans, advances and other extensions of credit made by the FHLB to the Bank are secured by a portion of the Bank’s mortgage loan portfolio, certain other investments, and the capital stock of the FHLB held by the Bank. The Bank is required to maintain a minimum amount of qualifying collateral with a fair value of at least 110% of the outstanding advances.

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Prompt Corrective Action Regulations

Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, federal banking regulatory agencies adopted capital rules based on the framework of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in “Basel III: A Global Regulatory Framework for More Resilient Banks and Banking Systems” (“Basel III”), which became effective January 1, 2014 for advanced approaches banking organizations (i.e., those with consolidated assets greater than $250 billion or consolidated on-balance sheet foreign exposures of at least $10 billion) and January 1, 2015 for all other covered organizations, replaced their general risk-based capital rules, advanced approaches rule, market risk rule, and leverage rules.

The Basel III capital rules provide certain changes to the prompt corrective action regulations adopted by the agencies under Section 38 of the FDIA, as amended by FDICIA. These regulations are designed to place restrictions on U.S. insured depository institutions if their capital levels begin to show signs of weakness. The five capital categories established by the agencies under their prompt corrective action framework are: “well capitalized,” “adequately capitalized,” “undercapitalized,” “significantly undercapitalized” and “critically undercapitalized”.

The Basel III capital rules expand such categories by introducing a common equity tier 1 capital requirement for all depository institutions, revising the minimum risk-based capital ratios and, beginning in 2018, the proposed supplementary leverage requirement for advanced approaches banking organizations. The common equity tier 1 capital ratio is a new minimum requirement designed to ensure that banking organizations hold sufficient high-quality regulatory capital that is available to absorb losses on a going-concern basis. Under such rules, an insured depository institution is:

(i) “well capitalized,” if it has a total risk-based capital ratio of 10% or more, a tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 8% or more, a common equity tier 1 capital ratio of 6.5% or more, and a tier 1 leverage capital ratio of 5% or more, and is not subject to any written capital order or directive;

(ii) “adequately capitalized,” if it has a total risk-based capital ratio of 8% or more, a tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 6% or more, a common equity tier 1 capital ratio of 4.5% or more, and a tier 1 leverage capital ratio of 4% or more;

(iii) “undercapitalized,” if it has a total risk-based capital ratio that is less than 8%, a tier 1 risk-based ratio that is less than 6%, a common equity tier 1 capital ratio that is less than 4.5%, or a tier 1 leverage capital ratio that is less than 4%;

(iv) “significantly undercapitalized,” if it has a total risk-based capital ratio that is less than 6%, a tier 1 risk-based capital ratio that is less than 4%, a common equity tier 1 capital ratio that is less than 3%, or a tier 1 leverage capital ratio that is less than 3%; and

(v) “critically undercapitalized,” if it has a ratio of tangible equity (defined as tier 1 capital plus non-tier 1 perpetual preferred stock) to total assets that is equal to or less than 2%.

The new capital rules also include a policy statement by the agencies that all banking organizations should maintain capital commensurate with their risk profiles, which may entail holding capital significantly above the minimum requirements. They also provide a reservation of authority permitting examiners to require that such organizations hold additional regulatory capital.

FDICIA generally prohibits a depository institution from making any capital distribution (including payment of a dividend) or paying any management fees to its holding company if the depository institution would thereafter be undercapitalized. Undercapitalized depository institutions are subject to restrictions on borrowing from the Federal Reserve System. In addition, undercapitalized depository institutions are subject to growth limitations and are required to submit capital restoration plans. A depository institution’s holding company must guarantee the capital plan, up to an amount equal to the lesser of 5% of the depository institution’s assets at the time it becomes undercapitalized or the amount of the capital deficiency when the institution fails to comply with the plan. The federal banking agencies may not accept a capital plan without determining, among other things, that the plan is based on realistic assumptions and is likely to succeed in restoring the depository institution’s capital. Significantly undercapitalized depository institutions may be subject to a number of requirements and restrictions, including orders to sell sufficient voting stock to become adequately capitalized, requirements to reduce total assets, and cessation of receipt of deposits from correspondent banks. Critically undercapitalized depository institutions are subject to the appointment of a receiver or conservator.

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FDIC Insurance Assessments

The Bank is subject to FDIC deposit insurance assessments. The Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005 (the “Reform Act”) merged the Bank Insurance Fund (“BIF”) and the Savings Association Insurance Fund (“SAIF”) into a single Deposit Insurance Fund, and increased the maximum amount of the insurance coverage for certain retirement accounts, and possible “inflation adjustments” in the maximum amount of coverage available with respect to other insured accounts. In addition, it granted a one-time initial assessment credit (of approximately $4.7 billion) to recognize institutions’ past contributions to the fund. As a result of the merger of the BIF and the SAIF, all insured institutions are subject to the same assessment rate schedule.

The Dodd-Frank Act contains several important deposit insurance reforms, including the following: (i) the maximum deposit insurance amount was permanently increased to $250,000; (ii) the deposit insurance assessment is now based on the insured depository institution’s average consolidated assets minus its average tangible equity, rather than on its deposit base; (iii) the minimum reserve ratio for the Deposit Insurance Fund was raised from 1.15% to 1.35% of estimated insured deposits by September 30, 2020; (iv) the FDIC is required to “offset the effect” of increased assessments on insured depository institutions with total consolidated assets of less than $10 billion; (v) the FDIC is no longer required to pay dividends if the Deposit Insurance Fund’s reserve ratio is greater than the minimum ratio; and (vi) the FDIC temporarily insured the full amount of qualifying “noninterest-bearing transaction accounts” until December 31, 2012. As defined in the Dodd-Frank Act, a “noninterest-bearing transaction account” is a deposit or account maintained at a depository institution with respect to which interest is neither accrued nor paid, on which the depositor or account holder is permitted to make withdrawals by negotiable or transferrable instrument, payment orders of withdrawals, telephone or other electronic media transfers, or other similar items for the purpose of making payments or transfers to third parties or others, and on which the insured depository institution does not reserve the right to require advance notice of an intended withdrawal.

The FDIC amended its regulations under the FDIA, as amended by the Dodd-Frank Act, to modify the definition of a depository institution’s insurance assessment base; to revise the deposit insurance assessment rate schedules in light of the new assessment base and altered adjustments; to implement the dividend provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act; and to revise the large insured depository institution assessment system to better differentiate for risk and better take into account losses from large institution failures that the FDIC may incur. Since the new assessment base under the Dodd-Frank Act is larger than the current assessment base, the new assessment rates adopted by the FDIC are lower than the former rates.

In 2016, the FDIC adopted two new rules to require large institutions to bear the burden of raising the reserve ratio from 1.15% to 1.35% and amended the pricing for small institutions after the reserve ratio reaches 1.15%. Once the reserve ratio reaches 1.38%, small institutions will receive credits to offset their contribution to raising the reserve ratio above 1.35%. Effective June 30, 2016, the reserve ratio reached 1.15%, and assessment collections decreased for small institutions like the Bank. Furthermore, on September 30, 2018, the reserve ratio reached 1.36%, exceeding the statutorily required minimum reserve ratio of 1.35% ahead of the September 30, 2020 deadline required under the Dodd-Frank Act, and small institutions like the Bank were awarded assessment credits for the portion of their assessments that contributed to the growth in the reserve ratio from 1.15% to 1.35%, applied when the reserve ratio was 1.38%.

Brokered Deposits

FDIC regulations adopted under the FDIA govern the receipt of brokered deposits by banks. Well capitalized institutions are not subject to limitations on brokered deposits, while adequately capitalized institutions are able to accept, renew or rollover brokered deposits only with a waiver from the FDIC and subject to certain restrictions on the interest paid on such deposits. Undercapitalized institutions are not permitted to accept brokered deposits. As of December 31, 2020, the Bank is a well-capitalized institution and is therefore not subject to these limitations on brokered deposits.

However, under the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018, which amended the FDIA, reciprocal deposits are excluded from such limitations if the total reciprocal deposits of the institution do not exceed 20% of its total liabilities. Reciprocal deposits are deposits that banks make with each other in equal amounts.

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Regulatory Capital Requirements

Under the Dodd-Frank Act, federal banking regulators are required to establish minimum leverage and risk-based capital requirements, on a consolidated basis, for insured institutions, depository institution holding companies, and non-bank financial companies supervised by the Federal Reserve Board. The minimum leverage and risk-based capital requirements are to be determined based on the minimum ratios established for insured depository institutions under prompt corrective action regulations. In effect, such provision of the Dodd-Frank Act, which is commonly known as the Collins Amendment, applies to bank holding companies the same leverage and risk-based capital requirements that apply to insured depository institutions. Because the capital requirements must be the same for insured depository institutions and their holding companies, the Collins Amendment generally excludes certain debt or equity instruments, such as cumulative perpetual preferred stock and trust preferred securities, from Tier 1 Capital. However, such instruments issued before May 19, 2010 by a bank holding company, such as Oriental, with total consolidated assets of less than $15 billion as of December 31, 2009, are not affected by the Collins Amendments, are “grandfathered” under such capital rules, and may continue to be included in tier 1 Capital as a restricted core capital element.

The Basel III capital rules adopted by the federal banking agencies revise the agencies’ risk-based and leverage capital requirements for banking organizations and consolidate three separate notices of proposed rulemaking that the OCC, Federal Reserve Board and FDIC published in the Federal Register on August 30, 2012, with selected changes. In particular, and consistent with the Basel III framework, the capital rules include a minimum ratio of common equity tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets of 4.5% and a common equity tier 1 capital conservation buffer of 2.5% of risk-weighted assets that apply to all banking organizations. The rules also raise the minimum ratio of tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets from 4% to 6% and include a minimum leverage ratio of 4% for all banking organizations. In addition, for the largest, most internationally active banking organizations, the rules include a new minimum supplementary leverage ratio that takes into account off-balance sheet exposures. The rules incorporate these new requirements into the agencies’ prompt corrective action framework. In addition, the rules establish limits on a banking organization’s capital distributions and certain discretionary bonus payments if the banking organization does not hold a specified amount of common equity tier 1 capital in addition to the amount necessary to meet its minimum risk-based capital requirements. Further, the rules amend the methodologies for determining risk-weighted assets for all banking organizations; introduce disclosure requirements that would apply to top-tier banking organizations domiciled in the United States with $50 billion or more in total assets; and adopt changes to the agencies’ regulatory capital requirements that meet the requirements of Section 171 and Section 939A of the Dodd-Frank Act. These rules also codify the agencies’ capital rules, which have previously resided in various appendices to their respective regulations, into a harmonized integrated regulatory framework.

In July 2019, the federal banking regulatory agencies adopted a final rule, pursuant to the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996, that simplifies for non-advanced approaches banking organizations the regulatory capital treatment for mortgage servicing assets (“MSAs”) and certain deferred tax assets arising from temporary differences (temporary difference DTAs). It increases common equity tier 1 capital threshold deductions from 10% to 25% and removes the aggregate 15% common equity tier 1 threshold deduction. However, it retains the 250% risk weight applicable to non-deducted amounts of MSAs and temporary difference DTAs. In November 2019, the agencies jointly issued a final rule that permits insured depository institutions and depository institution holding companies to implement the simplifications to the capital rule on January 1, 2020, rather than April 1, 2020. These banking organizations may elect to use the revised effective date of January 1, 2020 or wait until the quarter beginning April 1, 2020. Oriental elected to early implement the simplifications to the capital rule on January 1, 2020.

On November 13, 2019, the federal banking regulatory agencies jointly issued a final rule that provides for a simple measure of capital adequacy for qualifying community banking organizations, as required by the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. Under the final rule, depository institutions and depository institution holding companies that have less than $10 billion in total consolidated assets and meet other qualifying criteria, including a leverage ratio (equal to tier 1 capital divided by average total consolidated assets) of greater than 9%, will be eligible to opt into the community bank leverage ratio framework (qualifying community banking organizations). Qualifying community banking organizations that elect to use the community bank leverage ratio framework and that maintain a leverage ratio of greater than 9% will be considered to have satisfied the generally applicable risk-based and leverage capital requirements in the agencies’ capital rules and, if applicable, will be considered to have met the well-capitalized ratio requirements for purposes of section 38 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. The final rule was effective on January 1, 2020. Even though Oriental qualified for this ratio, the Company elected to opt out.

Failure to meet the capital rules could subject an institution to a variety of enforcement actions including the termination of deposit insurance by the FDIC and to certain restrictions on its business. At December 31, 2020, Oriental was in compliance with all applicable capital requirements. For more information, please refer to the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

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Safety and Soundness Standards

Section 39 of the FDIA, as amended by FDICIA, requires each federal banking agency to prescribe for all insured depository institutions standards relating to internal control, information systems, and internal audit systems, loan documentation, credit underwriting, interest rate exposure, asset growth, compensation, fees and benefits, and such other operational and managerial standards as the agency deems appropriate. In addition, each federal banking agency is also required to adopt for all insured depository institutions standards relating to asset quality, earnings and stock valuation that the agency determines to be appropriate. Finally, each federal banking agency is required to prescribe standards for the employment contracts and other compensation arrangements of executive officers, employees, directors and principal stockholders of insured depository institutions that would prohibit compensation, benefits and other arrangements that are excessive or that could lead to a material financial loss for the institution. If an institution fails to meet any of the standards described above, it will be required to submit to the appropriate federal banking agency a plan specifying the steps that will be taken to cure the deficiency. If the institution fails to submit an acceptable plan or fails to implement the plan, the appropriate federal banking agency will require the institution to correct the deficiency and, until it is corrected, may impose other restrictions on the institution, including any of the restrictions applicable under the prompt corrective action provisions of FDICIA.

The FDIC and the other federal banking agencies have adopted Interagency Guidelines Establishing Standards for Safety and Soundness that, among other things, set forth standards relating to internal controls, information systems and internal audit systems, loan documentation, credit, underwriting, interest rate exposure, asset growth and employee compensation.

Activities and Investments of Insured State-Chartered Banks

Section 24 of the FDIA, as amended by FDICIA, generally limits the activities and equity investments of FDIC-insured, state-chartered banks to those that are permissible for national banks. Under FDIC regulations of equity investments, an insured state bank generally may not directly or indirectly acquire or retain any equity investment of a type, or in an amount, that is not permissible for a national bank. An insured state bank, such as the Bank, is not prohibited from, among other things, (i) acquiring or retaining a majority interest in a subsidiary engaged in permissible activities, (ii) investing as a limited partner in a partnership, or as a non-controlling interest holder of a limited liability company, the sole purpose of which is direct or indirect investment in the acquisition, rehabilitation or new construction of a qualified housing project, provided that such investments may not exceed 2% of the bank’s total assets, (iii) acquiring up to 10% of the voting stock of a company that solely provides or reinsures directors’, trustees’ and officers’ liability insurance coverage or bankers’ blanket bond group insurance coverage for insured depository institutions, and (iv) acquiring or retaining the voting stock of an insured depository institution if certain requirements are met, including that it is owned exclusively by other banks. Under the FDIC regulations governing the activities and investments of insured state banks which further implemented Section 24 of the FDIA, as amended by FDICIA, an insured state-chartered bank may not, directly, or indirectly through a subsidiary, engage as “principal” in any activity that is not permissible for a national bank unless the FDIC has determined that such activities would pose no risk to the Deposit Insurance Fund and the bank is in compliance with applicable regulatory capital requirements.

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Transactions with Affiliates and Related Parties

Transactions between the Bank and any of its affiliates are governed by sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act. These sections are important statutory provisions designed to protect a depository institution from transferring to its affiliates the subsidy arising from the institution’s access to the Federal safety net. An affiliate of a bank is any company or entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with the bank, including investment funds for which the bank or any of its affiliates is an investment advisor. Generally, sections 23A and 23B (i) limit the extent to which a bank or its subsidiaries may engage in “covered transactions” with any one affiliate to an amount equal to 10% of the bank’s capital stock and surplus, and limit such transactions with all affiliates to an amount equal to 20% of such capital stock and surplus, and (ii) require that all such transactions be on terms that are consistent with safe and sound banking practices. The term “covered transactions” includes the making of loans, purchase of or investment in securities issued by the affiliate, purchase of assets, acceptance of securities issued by the affiliate as collateral for a loan or extension of credit, issuance of guarantees and other similar types of transactions. The Dodd-Frank Act expanded the scope of transactions treated as “covered transactions” to include credit exposure to an affiliate on derivatives transactions, credit exposure resulting from a securities borrowing or lending transaction, or derivative transaction, and acceptances of affiliate-issued debt obligations as collateral for a loan or extension of credit. Most loans by a bank to any of its affiliates must be secured by collateral in amounts ranging from 100% to 130% of the loan amount, depending on the nature of the collateral. In addition, any covered transaction by a bank with an affiliate and any sale of assets or provision of services to an affiliate must be on terms that are substantially the same, or at least as favorable to the bank, as those prevailing at the time for comparable transactions with nonaffiliated companies. Regulation W of the Federal Reserve Board comprehensively implements sections 23A and 23B. The regulation unified and updated staff interpretations issued over the years prior to its adoption, incorporated several interpretative proposals (such as to clarify when transactions with an unrelated third party will be attributed to an affiliate), and addressed issues arising as a result of the expanded scope of non-banking activities engaged in by banks and bank holding companies and authorized for financial holding companies under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

Sections 22(g) and 22(h) of the Federal Reserve Act place restrictions on loans by a bank to executive officers, directors, and principal shareholders. Regulation O of the Federal Reserve Board implements these provisions and applies to an FDIC-insured nonmember bank, such as the Bank, by virtue of the FDIC’s Unsafe and Unsound Banking Practices Regulation. Under Section 22(h) and Regulation O, loans to a director, an executive officer and a greater-than-10% shareholder of a bank and certain of their related interests (collectively “insiders”), and insiders of its affiliates, may not exceed, together with all other outstanding loans to such person and its related interests, the bank’s single borrower limit (generally equal to 15% of the institution’s unimpaired capital and surplus). Section 22(h) and Regulation O also require that loans to insiders and insiders of affiliates be made on terms substantially the same as offered in comparable transactions to other persons, unless the loans are made pursuant to a benefit or compensation program that (i) is widely available to employees of the bank and (ii) does not give preference to insiders over other employees of the bank. Section 22(h) and Regulation O also require prior board of directors’ approval for certain loans, and the aggregate amount of extensions of credit by a bank to all insiders cannot exceed the institution’s unimpaired capital and surplus. Furthermore, Section 22(g) and Regulation O place additional restrictions on loans to executive officers.

Community Reinvestment Act

Under the Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”), a financial institution has a continuing and affirmative obligation, consistent with its safe and sound operation, to help meet the credit needs of its entire community, including low and moderate income neighborhoods. The CRA does not establish specific lending requirements or programs for financial institutions nor does it limit an institution’s discretion to develop the types of products and services that it believes are best suited to its particular community, consistent with the CRA. The CRA requires federal examiners, in connection with the examination of a financial institution, to assess the institution’s record of meeting the credit needs of its community and to take such record into account in its evaluation of certain applications by such institution. The CRA also requires all institutions to make public disclosure of their CRA ratings.

USA Patriot Act

Under Title III of the USA Patriot Act, also known as the International Money Laundering Abatement and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act of 2001, all financial institutions, including Oriental, Oriental Financial Services, and the Bank, are required in general to identify their customers, adopt formal and comprehensive anti-money laundering programs, scrutinize or prohibit altogether certain transactions of special concern, and be prepared to respond to inquiries from U.S. law enforcement agencies concerning their customers and their transactions.

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The U.S. Treasury Department (the “US Treasury”) has issued a number of regulations implementing the USA Patriot Act that apply certain of its requirements to financial institutions. The regulations impose obligations on financial institutions to maintain appropriate policies, procedures and controls to detect, prevent and report money laundering and terrorist financing.

Failure of a financial institution to comply with the USA Patriot Act’s requirements could have serious legal consequences for the institution. Oriental and its subsidiaries, including the Bank, have adopted policies, procedures and controls to address compliance with the USA Patriot Act under existing regulations, and will continue to revise and update their policies, procedures and controls to reflect changes required by the USA Patriot Act and the US Treasury’s regulations.

Privacy Policies

Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, all financial institutions are required to adopt privacy policies, restrict the sharing of nonpublic customer data with nonaffiliated parties at the customer’s request, and establish procedures and practices to protect customer data from unauthorized access. Oriental and its subsidiaries have established policies and procedures to assure Oriental’s compliance with all privacy provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX”) implemented a range of corporate governance and accounting measures to increase corporate responsibility, to provide for enhanced penalties for accounting and auditing improprieties at publicly traded companies, and to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of disclosures under federal securities laws. In addition, SOX established membership requirements and responsibilities for the audit committee, imposed restrictions on the relationship between a publicly-traded company, such as Oriental, and its external auditors, imposed additional responsibilities for the external financial statements on the chief executive officer and the chief financial officer, expanded the disclosure requirements for corporate insiders, required management to evaluate its disclosure controls and procedures and its internal control over financial reporting, and required the auditors to issue a report on the internal control over financial reporting.

Oriental has included in this annual report on Form 10-K management’s assessment regarding the effectiveness of Oriental’s internal control over financial reporting. The internal control report includes a statement of management’s responsibility for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting for Oriental; management’s assessment as to the effectiveness of Oriental’s internal control over financial reporting based on management’s evaluation as of year-end; and the framework used by management as criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of Oriental’s internal control over financial reporting. As of December 31, 2020, Oriental’s management concluded that its internal control over financial reporting was effective.

Puerto Rico Banking Act

As a Puerto Rico-chartered commercial bank, the Bank is subject to regulation and supervision by the OCFI under the Banking Act, which contains provisions governing the organization of the Bank, rights and responsibilities of directors, officers and stockholders, as well as the corporate powers, savings, lending, capital and investment requirements and other aspects of the Bank and its affairs. In addition, the OCFI is given extensive rulemaking power and administrative discretion under the Banking Act. The OCFI generally examines the Bank at least once every year.

The Banking Act requires that a minimum of 10% of the Bank’s net income for the year be transferred to a reserve fund until such fund (legal surplus) equals the total paid-in capital on common and preferred stock. At December 31, 2020 and 2019, legal surplus amounted to $103.3 million and $95.8 million, respectively. The amount transferred to the legal surplus account is not available for the payment of dividends to shareholders.

The Banking Act also provides that when the expenditures of a bank are greater than the receipts, the excess of the former over the latter must be charged against the undistributed profits of the bank, and the balance, if any, must be charged against the reserve fund. If there is no reserve fund sufficient to cover such balance, in whole or in part, the outstanding amount must be charged against the capital account and no dividend may be declared until said capital has been restored to its original amount and the reserve fund to 20% of the original capital.

The Banking Act further requires every bank to maintain a legal reserve which cannot be less than 20% of its demand liabilities, except government deposits (federal, commonwealth and municipal), which are secured by actual collateral.

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The Banking Act also requires change of control filings. When any person or entity will own, directly or indirectly, upon consummation of a transfer, 5% or more of the outstanding voting capital stock of a bank, the acquiring parties must inform the OCFI of the details not less than 60 days prior to the date said transfer is to be consummated. The transfer will require the approval of the OCFI if it results in a change of control of the bank. Under the Banking Act, a change of control is presumed if an acquirer who did not own more than 5% of the voting capital stock before the transfer exceeds such percentage after the transfer.

The Banking Act permits Puerto Rico commercial banks to make loans to any one person, firm, partnership or corporation, up to an aggregate amount of 15% of the sum of: (i) the bank’s paid-in capital; (ii) the bank’s reserve fund; (iii) 50% of the bank’s retained earnings, subject to certain limitations; and (iv) any other components that the OCFI may determine from time to time. If such loans are secured by collateral worth at least 25% more than the amount of the loan, the aggregate maximum amount will include 33.33% of 50% of the bank’s retained earnings. Such restrictions under the Banking Act on the amount of loans to a single borrower do not apply to loans: (i) to the government of the United States or the government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any of their respective agencies, instrumentalities or municipalities, or (ii) that are wholly secured by bonds, securities and other evidence of indebtedness of the government of the United States or of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or by bonds, not in default, of municipalities or instrumentalities of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

The Puerto Rico Finance Board is composed of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico; the Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Finance Advisory Authority: the Presidents of the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico Planning Board; the Secretaries of Commerce and Economic Development, Treasury and Consumer Affairs of Puerto Rico; the Commissioner of Insurance of Puerto Rico; and the President of the Public Corporation for Insurance and Supervision of Puerto Rico Cooperatives. It has the authority to regulate the maximum interest rates and finance charges that may be charged on loans to individuals and businesses in the Commonwealth. The current regulations of the Puerto Rico Finance Board provide that the applicable interest rate on loans to individuals and businesses is to be determined by free competition. The Puerto Rico Finance Board also has the authority to regulate maximum finance charges on retail installment sales contracts and for credit card purchases. There is presently no maximum rate for retail installment sales contracts and for credit card purchases.

Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code

Under the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 2011, as amended (the “PR Code”), a corporation pays taxes at a fixed rate of 18.5% (the regular corporate tax) plus a surtax that ranges from 5% for net income subject to surtax not greater than $75,000 to 19% for net income subject to surtax in excess of $275,000. Net income subject to surtax is net income less $25,000. The maximum regular corporate tax decreased to 18.5% for tax years beginning after December 31, 2018. The result is a maximum combined rate of 37.5% under the PR Code for years beginning after December 31, 2018 (previously the maximum combined tax rate was 39%). The Bank and other subsidiaries of Oriental are treated as separate taxable corporations and are not entitled to file consolidated returns. Corporate income tax returns of “large taxpayers” are required to be certified as prepared or reviewed by a Puerto Rico licensed certified public accountant. The PR Code also provides a dividends-received deduction of 100% on dividends received from "controlled subsidiaries" subject to taxation in Puerto Rico and 85% on dividends received from other taxable domestic corporations. Net operating losses (“NOLs”) are allowed as a deduction in computing the net income of the taxpayer. The carryover period for NOLs is currently 10 years. Moreover, the amount to be carried over to a particular year is limited to the excess of the NOL over 90% of the net income for the year (for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2018).

On July 1, 2019, Puerto Rico enacted Act No. 60-2019, known as the “Puerto Rico Incentives Code” (the “Incentives Code”). In general, the Incentives Code compiled into a single code many of the Puerto Rico tax incentives laws used to promote the island’s economic development, with some modifications. The Incentives Code also amended various provisions of the PR Code, mostly effective July 1, 2019. For example, the Incentives Code amended the PR Code: (i) to incorporate a new provision exempting the payments for services between members of a controlled group of corporations or group of related entities doing business in Puerto Rico from the 10% income tax withholding generally applicable on payments for services rendered, and (ii) to eliminate for taxable years commencing after December 31, 2018 the limitation on NOL carry-forwards following a change of ownership. In 2020, the Incentives Code was amended pursuant to Act Nos. 169-2020 to incorporate therein and extend the expiration date of the housing benefits granted under Act No. 216-2011, as amended. Additionally, the Incentives Code was amended pursuant to Act No. 172-2020 to provide for the imposition of a special 12% income tax on the royalty and licensing rights payments from Puerto Rico sources made to foreign persons not engaged in trade or business in Puerto Rico by an exempt business with a tax decree issued under the Incentives Code covering the export of goods and services.

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On January 17, 2020, Puerto Rico enacted Act No. 17-2020 to clarify the tax treatment applicable to services performed by entities or individuals not classified as employees to the government of Puerto Rico under a contract not remitted to the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico. These services will be considered Puerto Rico source income notwithstanding the same have been performed outside Puerto Rico. In addition, on April 16, 2020, Act No. 40-2020 was enacted to incorporate certain technical amendments to the PR Code after considering the amendments previously made to the PR Code under Act No. 257-2018, impacting the computation of tax liability for individuals, corporations and limited liability companies; amending certain provisions relating to informative returns; providing new rules applicable to the requirement of submitting audited financial statements and agreed upon procedures; incorporating the new “marketplace facilitator” figure and its obligation to collect sales and use taxes; and making other changes impacting the sales and use tax regime, among other new miscellaneous provisions.

On June 14, 2020, Puerto Rico enacted Act No. 57-2020 related to the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the economy. This law implemented new governmental programs and temporary tax measures with the objective of providing some relief for individuals and entities from the economic consequences of the pandemic, including exempting sales and use tax on business-to-business services; postponing the $500 minimum alternative minimum tax payment; providing relief from withholding taxes on professional services; postponing the new agreed upon procedures requirement applicable in 2019 pursuant to Act No. 257-2018; and extending the time to file income tax and sales and use tax returns, among other relief measures.

On December 30, 2020, Puerto Rico enacted Act No. 173-2020 amending the PR Code to delegate to the Puerto Rico Treasury Secretary the authority to extend the due date for the 2020 income tax returns (including payments) up to June 15, 2021; postponing the effective date of the disposition related to the “marketplace facilitator” responsibilities to collect sales and use taxes to transactions taking place after December 31, 2020, and other miscellaneous provisions.

International Banking Center Regulatory Act of Puerto Rico

The business and operations of the Bank’s IBE Units and IBE Subsidiary are subject to supervision and regulation by the OCFI. Under the IBE Act, no sale, encumbrance, assignment, merger, exchange or transfer of shares, interest or participation in the capital of an IBE may be initiated without the prior approval of the OCFI if by such transaction a person would acquire, directly or indirectly, control of 10% or more of any class of stock, interest or participation in the capital of the IBE. The IBE Act and the regulations issued thereunder by the OCFI (the “IBE Regulations”) limit the business activities that may be carried out by an IBE. Such activities are generally limited to persons and assets/liabilities located outside of Puerto Rico. The IBE Act provides further that every IBE must have not less than $300 thousand of unencumbered assets or acceptable financial guarantees in Puerto Rico.

Pursuant to the IBE Act and the IBE Regulations, the Bank’s IBE Units and IBE Subsidiary have to maintain in Puerto Rico the books and records of all their transactions in the ordinary course of business. They are also required to submit quarterly and annual reports of their financial condition and results of operations to the OCFI, including annual audited financial statements.

The IBE Act empowers the OCFI to revoke or suspend, after notice and hearing, a license issued thereunder if, among other things, the IBE fails to comply with the IBE Act, the IBE Regulations or the terms of its license, or if the OCFI finds that the business or affairs of the IBE are conducted in a manner that is not consistent with the public interest.

In 2012, the IBE Act was superseded by a new law that, among other things, prohibits new license applications to organize and operate an IBE. Any such newly organized entity (now called an “international financial entity”) must be licensed under the new law, and such entity (as opposed to existing IBEs organized under the IBE Act, including the Bank’s IBE Units and IBE Subsidiary, which are “grandfathered”) will generally be subject to a 4% Puerto Rico income tax rate.

Volcker Rule

The so-called “Volcker Rule” adopted by the federal banking regulatory agencies under Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act generally prohibits bank holding companies, insured depository institutions and their affiliates from (i) engaging in short-term proprietary trading of securities, derivatives, commodities futures and options on these instruments for their own account; and (ii) owning, sponsoring or having certain relationships with hedge funds or private equity funds. However, it exempts certain activities, including market making, underwriting, hedging, trading in government and municipal obligations, and organizing and offering a hedge fund or private equity fund, among others. A banking entity that engages in any such covered activity (i.e., proprietary trading or investment activities in hedge funds or private equity funds) is generally required to establish an internal compliance program reasonably designed to ensure and monitor compliance with the Volcker Rule.

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The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018 amended the BHC Act to exempt from the Volcker Rule those bank holding companies, insured depository institutions and their affiliates with total assets that do not exceed $10 billion and trading assets and liabilities comprising not more than 5% of their total assets. Therefore, banking entities that meet such threshold may generally engage in proprietary trading and invest in private equity and hedge funds. On July 22, 2019, the federal banking regulatory agencies adopted final rules amending their regulations in a manner consistent with such exemption.

Managing Our Human Capital

Oriental’s mission is to help make possible the progress of our clients, employees, shareholders and the communities we serve. For this reason, as we manage our most important asset: our human capital, we aim to provide them with a top-notch experience that enables their progress and well-being during each interaction with us. From hiring to exiting we care to deliver an employee experience that resembles the experience we aspire for our customers. We believe this experience and a high-performance culture translates into business results and strategy achievement.

Covid-19: Supporting our employees’ well-being amid crises

In response to Covid-19 pandemic, Oriental adopted a broad approach to increased safety, including work-at-home arrangements for employees who were able to do so (having approximately 50% of employees work from home). To be able to work on-site, Oriental has adopted safety protocols to protect the health of employees and clients. These measures include: increased sanitation procedures, modifications in our facilities layout, employee segmentation into smaller teams, restrictions to reduce the number of people allowed in our premises, temperature checks and masks required for all employees and visitors, special operating hours and an appointment system for visiting our branches, among many others. Personal protective equipment has been provided to all employees free of charge. These practices are actively sustained by internal safety awareness campaigns that encourage our employees to demonstrate accountability by taking care of themselves at all times during the pandemic, even outside work premises.

We have also taken a proactive approach towards the health and well-being of all our employees creating an ongoing on-site Covid-19 testing program free of charge, expanding health insurance and benefits for employees, including coverage of the Covid-19 tests and related telemedicine, opening insurance networks of laboratories, pharmacies and doctors to ease employee access.

In addition, preventive paid leaves and other non-paid leaves are available to employees to help them manage personal or family issues related to Covid-19.

A pandemic salary continuation program was also provided to branches and other customer-facing employees during the lock-down period.

Diversity, equity and inclusion

Oriental’s hiring and talent management practices promotes a diverse workforce that reflects the makeup of the communities in which it operates. Oriental prepares an annual diversity plan, whereby it identifies members of the community that are underrepresented in our workforce. We are continuously reviewing and ensuring a diverse workforce representation at all levels.

In addition, Oriental’s anti-discrimination policy forbids employment decisions, including hiring, promotions, or terminations, based on race, gender, age, sexual orientation, or disability and prohibits harassment in the workplace. The anti-discrimination policy also includes procedures for protecting employees from domestic abuse.

Compensation

A key component of delivering our mission is our compensation package. Oriental’s Human Resources Department develops offers for new salaried employees and develops and administers promotions to maintain the internal integrity of the compensation levels for comparable positions. The Board’s Compensation Committee, with the recommendation of the full Board in the case of incentive compensation, determines annual salaries of the Oriental’s senior executive management team, taking into account similarly situated executives employed by a peer group of companies while also considering input of the Compensation Committee’s independent compensation consultant.

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Our compensation program is intended to reward achievements of individual and business performance objectives and align such objectives with our corporate governance principles and the creation of shareholder value. The main objectives of our compensation program are to: attract and retain employees, ensure a strong link between pay and performance, provide a compensation mix (direct and indirect compensation, and short and long-term incentives, long-term incentives) that is competitive with market practices and reflects performance, support our business and talent management strategy encouraging and motivating desired employee behaviors, and ensures a strong alignment with shareholder interests.

The application of our compensation philosophy is supported through program design and communication. It is also presented to the Compensation Committee annually.

We also offer a comprehensive benefits package to all eligible employees. We continuously review our compensation and benefits package through the participation of market surveys. These results and metrics assist us to improve and drive pay equity while ensuring our competitiveness.

Talent Acquisition and Retention

To ensure we are delivering the employee experience we aim for while we retain, develop and provide an engaging work environment and culture, we regularly conduct an engagement survey. Besides measuring employee satisfaction and engagement, the survey provides insights to actively promote employees and team connections with their respective leaders to work on an improvement plan for their respective business units in topics such as resources and tools, job expectations, recognition, ideas, collaboration and development.

We continually monitor corporate employee turnover rates, as our success depends upon retaining our highly trained and dedicated personnel. We believe that our philosophy of providing highly competitive compensation, along with significant opportunities for career growth and development opportunities, encourage a high level of employee tenure and low level of voluntary turnover.

Company Culture

We expect all our employees to observe the highest levels of business ethics, integrity, mutual respect, tolerance, and inclusivity. Oriental has controls in place relating to compliance with its Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, including a requirement for annual employee certifications thereof, as well as an established whistleblower line and related procedures.

Learning and development

Oriental ensures we have the right talent in the right place to meet our needs. As such, we are constantly providing training and developing opportunities to enhance the skills and competencies our employees need to achieve the expected performance standards of their jobs. We assess talent needs continuously and with guidance of our leaders an annual training plan is scheduled, and learning opportunities are made accessible virtually and online through our learning platform. Among other learning offerings, we provide the management trainee program for new highly skilled and educated recruits, and a manager’s academy for more seasoned managers to further develop their leadership skills. Oriental also has customer service and sales-service academies provided to client-facing sales and service employees.

Oriental conducts a succession planning process once a year for senior leaders and presents it our Board of Directors, besides providing business continuity, the process serves as tool to drive our diversity and inclusion practices. The process is also carried out for other managerial levels periodically allowing time to act on the development plans.

In addition, as a highly regulated entity, Oriental makes sure that its employees are properly trained on company policies and important compliance matters, including regulatory compliance and anti-money laundering programs, among others. All employees are required to complete annual online trainings covering all required topics.

Community Involvement

Oriental has used internships and partnerships with universities to enrich recruiting efforts. Oriental has also utilized outreach and partnerships with local community resources at different locations such as workforce development agencies, industry groups and other entities to strengthen Oriental’s hiring process and expand the future workforce candidate pool.

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Employee Engagement and Wellness

The success of our business is fundamentally connected to the well-being of our people. Accordingly, we are committed to the health, safety and wellness of our employees. Oriental employee assistance programs offer counseling for emotional, financial and family issues. Continuing financial planning education is provided by Oriental’s 401(k) plan administrator to assist employees in financial and retirement planning. For many years, Oriental’s investment in human capital has involved commitments to worker training, apprenticeship programs and funding college scholarships for employee’s dependents.

Management and Board Oversight

Management is engaged in Oriental’s efforts regarding management of human capital resources through regular informational meetings, Oriental’s Enterprise Risk Management program and organized succession planning. The Board oversees these activities through regular reports by senior management regarding new or altered programs and as part of the Compensation Committee and Enterprise Risk Management process. In addition, the compensation committee of the Board is actively engaged in achieving and maintaining internal and external pay equity for the executive team and the Board members while overseeing incentive compensation more broadly throughout the organization. In promoting external pay equity, the Board and the compensation committee make use of peer comparisons and benchmarking measures.

Employee Statistics

At December 31, 2020, Oriental had 2,275 employees. None of its employees is represented by a collective bargaining group. Oriental considers its employee relations to be good.

Internet Access to Reports

Oriental’s annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and any and all amendments to such reports, filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, are available free of charge on or through the “SEC filings” link of Oriental’s internet website at www.ofgbancorp.com, as soon as reasonably practicable after Oriental electronically files such material with, or furnishes it to, the SEC.

Oriental’s corporate governance principles and guidelines, code of business conduct and ethics, and the charters of its audit committee, compensation committee, risk and compliance committee, and corporate governance and nominating committee are available free of charge on Oriental’s website at www.ofgbancorp.com under the corporate governance link. Oriental’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applies to its directors, officers, employees and agents, including its principal executive, financial and accounting officers.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

In addition to other information set forth in this report, you should carefully consider the following risk factors, as updated by other filings Oriental makes with the SEC under the Exchange Act. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us at this time or that Oriental currently deems immaterial may also adversely affect Oriental’s business, financial condition or results of operations.

ECONOMIC AND MARKET CONDITIONS RISK

Most of our business is conducted in Puerto Rico, whose economic and government fiscal and liquidity challenges, as well as the impact of two major hurricanes in 2017 and earthquakes and a pandemic in 2020, have adversely impacted and may continue to adversely impact us.

Our business is directly affected by economic conditions within Puerto Rico. A significant portion of our credit risk exposure on our loan portfolio is concentrated in Puerto Rico. Such, our profitability and financial condition may be adversely affected by an extended economic recession, adverse political, fiscal or economic developments in Puerto Rico, or the effects of natural disasters, all of which could result in a reduction in loan originations, an increase in credit losses and a reduction in the value of our loans and loan servicing portfolio.

In the past decades, Puerto Rico has experienced a significant economic contraction that began in 2006; a government fiscal crisis that led to the appointment of a federal oversight board in 2016 and a bankruptcy type restructuring process of the government’s finances; and various significant natural disasters, hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017 and a series of earthquakes primarily affecting the southwest region of the island in January 2020, and the Covid-19 pandemic throughout 2020 and in 2021. Although federal assistance for recovering from the natural disasters and insurance recoveries are expected to drive economic growth in the short term, there is no guarantee that funds set aside for these purposes will not be repurposed by the federal government or that their disbursement will not be unreasonably conditioned or delayed. In addition, there is no assurance that the government will be able to satisfy its obligations as they may be restructured. Puerto Rico also continues to be vulnerable to hurricanes and earthquakes and may be impacted by future natural disasters. Furthermore, the government fiscal crisis may limit the ability of the Puerto Rico government to respond effectively to future disasters.

Deterioration in local economic conditions or in the financial condition of an industry on which the local market depends could adversely affect factors such as unemployment rates and real estate vacancy and values. This could result in, among other things, a reduction of creditworthy borrowers seeking loans, an increase in loan delinquencies, defaults and foreclosures, an increase in classified and non-accrual loans, a decrease in the value of collateral for loans, and a decrease in core deposits. Any of these factors could materially impact our business.

Puerto Rico and the USVI are susceptible to earthquakes, hurricanes and major storms, which could further deteriorate their economy and infrastructure.

Our branch network and business is concentrated in Puerto Rico and the USVI, which are susceptible to earthquakes, hurricanes and major storms that affect the local economy and the demand for our loans and financial services, as well as the ability of our customers to repay their loans. Any such natural disasters may further adversely affect Puerto Rico’s and the USVI’s critical infrastructure, which are generally weak. This makes us vulnerable to downturns in Puerto Rico’s and the USVI’s economy as a result of natural disasters, such as recent earthquakes in 2020 and hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. Any subsequent earthquakes, hurricanes, major storms or other disasters, such as pandemics, could further deteriorate Puerto Rico’s and USVI’s economy and infrastructure and negatively affect or disrupt our operations and customer base.

The Covid-19 pandemic has adversely impacted our business and financial results, and the extent to which the pandemic and measures taken in response to the pandemic could materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition, liquidity, capital and results of operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and are difficult to predict.

Global health concerns relating to the Covid-19 pandemic and related government actions taken to reduce the spread of the virus have impacted the macroeconomic environment, significantly increased economic uncertainty and reduced economic activity. The pandemic has also caused governmental authorities to implement numerous measures to try to contain the virus, including travel restrictions, quarantines, shelter-in-place orders, and business limitations and shutdowns. These measures have negatively impacted and may further negatively impact consumer and business payment and spending patterns.

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The Covid-19 pandemic has adversely impacted, and may continue to adversely impact, our business, financial condition, capital and results of operations. The extent of these impacts depends on future developments, which are highly uncertain and difficult to predict, including, but not limited to, the duration and magnitude of the pandemic, the actions taken to contain the virus or treat its impact, the effectiveness of economic stimulus measures in Puerto Rico and the United States, and how quickly and to what extent economic and operating conditions and consumer and business spending can return to their pre-pandemic levels. Until vaccine is widely distributed, we expect business conditions to remain challenging. As a result, our loan growth and the overall demand for our products and services may be significantly impacted, which could adversely affect our revenue and other results of operations. In addition, we could experience higher credit losses in our loan portfolios and increases in our allowance for credit losses. For example, as a result of the significant uncertainty due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we realized a substantial build in our allowance for credit losses for the year ended December 31, 2020. Oriental’s interest income could also be reduced due to Covid-19. Interest and fees still accrue on amounts that are deemed collectible during the deferral period; however, should Oriental later determine that collection of payments is not expected and eventual credit losses on these deferred payments emerge, accrued and unpaid interest income and fees will need to be reversed. In such a scenario, interest income in future periods could be negatively impacted. At December 31, 2020, Oriental has established an allowance for credit losses on this accrued interest receivable amounting to $711 thousand. We could also experience impairments of other financial assets and other negative impacts on our financial position, including possible constraints on liquidity and capital, as well as higher costs of capital. Even after the Covid-19 pandemic has subsided, we may continue to experience adverse impacts to our business and results of operations, which could be material, as a result of the macroeconomic impact and any recession that has occurred or may occur in the future.

The spread of Covid-19 has caused us to modify our business practices and operations, including providing forbearance options to our customers in certain circumstances. We may need to further modify our practices and operations as this event unfolds. We have also implemented work-from-home policies for approximately 50% of our employees, and social distancing plans for our employees who are working from Oriental’s facilities. These measures could impair our ability to perform critical functions and may adversely impact our results of operations. We may take further actions as required by government authorities or that we otherwise determine are in the best interests of our customers, employees and business partners.

Federal, state, and local governmental authorities have enacted, and may enact in the future, legislation, regulations and protocols in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, including governmental programs intended to provide economic relief to businesses and individuals. Our participation in and execution of any such programs may cause operational, compliance, reputational and credit risks, which could result in litigation, governmental action or other forms of loss. The extent of these impacts, which may be substantial, will depend on the degree of our participation in these programs. There remains significant uncertainty regarding the measures that authorities will enact in the future and the ultimate impact of the legislation, regulations and protocols that have been and will be enacted.

Changes in interest rates could reduce Oriental’s net interest income

Market risk refers to the probability of variations in the net interest income or the fair value of assets and liabilities due to changes in interest rates, currency exchange rates or equity prices.

Changes in interest rates are one of the principal market risks affecting us. Our earnings are dependent to a large degree on net interest income, which is the difference between the interest rates earned on interest-earning assets, such as loans, investment securities and cash, and the interest rates paid on interest-bearing liabilities, such as deposits and borrowings. Depending on the duration and repricing characteristics of the assets, liabilities and off-balance sheet items, changes in interest rates could either increase or decrease the level of net interest income. For any given period, the pricing structure of the assets and liabilities is matched when an equal amount of such assets and liabilities mature or reprice in that period. Like all financial institutions, our financial position is affected by fluctuations in interest rates. Volatility in interest rates can also result in the flow of funds away from financial institutions. We may suffer losses or experience lower spreads than anticipated if we are not effective in managing our interest rate risk.

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Our business is susceptible to interest rate risk because a significant portion of our business involves borrowing and lending money, and investing in financial instruments. Reforms to and uncertainty regarding the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

On July 27, 2017, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”), publicly announced that it intends to stop persuading or compelling banks to submit LIBOR rates after 2021. It is expected that a transition away from the widespread use of LIBOR to alternative rates will occur over the course of the next several years.

On April 3, 2018, the Federal Reserve began publishing three new reference rates, including the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”). The Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC) has recommended SOFR as the alternative to USD LIBOR and published fallback interest rate consultations for public comment as well as a Paced Transition Plan to SOFR use. The Financial Stability Board has taken an interest in LIBOR and possible replacement indices as a matter of risk management. The International Organization of Securities Commissions, or IOSCO, has been active in this area and is expected to call on market participants to have backup options if a reference rate, such as LIBOR, ceases publication. The International Swap Dealers Association has published guidance on interest rate benchmarks and alternatives in July and August 2018.

On November 30th, 2020 the federal banking regulatory agencies issued an Interagency Statement on LIBOR Transition to encourage banks to transition away from U.S. dollar (USD) LIBOR as soon as practicable. The Statement exposes that the LIBOR transition is a significant event that banks should closely manage and further explains that new financial contracts should either utilize a reference rate other than LIBOR or have robust fallback language that includes a clearly defined alternative reference rate after LIBOR’s discontinuation. Separately, the agencies recently issued a statement that says a bank may use any reference rate for its loans that the bank determines to be appropriate for its funding model and customer needs.

The key aspect of such Statement is that the administrator of LIBOR announced it will consult on its intention to cease the publication of the one-week and two-month USD LIBOR settings immediately following the LIBOR publication on December 31, 2021, and the remaining USD LIBOR settings immediately following the LIBOR publication on June 30, 2023. This extension allows most USD LIBOR contracts to mature before LIBOR experiences disruptions. Failure to prepare for disruptions to USD LIBOR, including operating with insufficiently robust fallback language, could undermine financial stability and banks’ safety and soundness. The statement does go on to clearly specify that it should not be read as announcing that the LIBOR benchmark has ceased, or will cease, to be provided permanently or indefinitely or that it is not, or no longer will be, representative for the purposes of language adopted by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (“ISDA”). Recently, ISDA launched the IBOR Fallbacks Supplement and IBOR Fallbacks Protocol, marking a major step in reducing the systemic impact of a key interbank offered rate becoming unavailable while market participants continue to have exposure to that rate. The supplement amends ISDA’s standard definitions for interest rate derivatives to incorporate robust fallbacks for derivatives linked to certain IBORs, changes went into effect on January 25, 2021.

The replacement of LIBOR creates operational and market risks that will become clearer as replacement choices are developed. Oriental’s LIBOR exposure is mainly concentrated within its commercial loan portfolio. Oriental has identified its LIBOR-based contracts that will be impacted by the cessation of LIBOR and is incorporating fallback language in negotiated contracts and incorporating a non-LIBOR reference rate and/or fallback language in new contracts to prepare for these changes. Furthermore, management has established a LIBOR transition team to lead Oriental in the execution of its project plan. Uncertainty as to the nature of replacement choices potential changes or other reforms may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

CREDIT RISK

We are exposed to credit risk in connection with our loans to certain government agencies and municipalities of Puerto Rico, and the restructuring of Puerto Rico government’s debt could adversely affect the value of such loans.

At December 31, 2020, we have approximately $99.1 million of direct credit exposure to four municipalities and a Puerto Rico public corporation, a $34.9 million decrease from December 31, 2019. Mainly, the credit exposure consists of collateralized loans or obligations that have special additional property tax revenues pledged for their repayment.

The Puerto Rico government faces a number of severe economic and fiscal challenges that are expected to require a significant government restructuring, as well as severe austerity measures to close its significant budget deficit.

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If the government restructuring affects the ability of the municipalities to pay their obligations to us as they become due, or under certain other circumstances, we may be required to adversely classify such loans and increase the provision for loan losses in connection therewith. Such provision may significantly impact our earnings.

Heightened credit risk could require us to increase our provision for credit losses, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Making loans is an essential element of our business, and there is a risk that the loans will not be repaid. This default risk is affected by a number of factors, including:

 the duration of the loan;

 credit risks of a particular borrower;

 changes in economic or industry conditions; and

 in the case of a collateralized loan, risks resulting from uncertainties about the future value of the collateral.

Our customers might not repay their loans according to the original terms, and the collateral securing the payment of those loans might be insufficient to pay any remaining loan balance. Hence, we may experience significant loan losses, which could have a materially adverse effect on our operating results. We make various assumptions and judgments about the collectability of our loan portfolio, including the creditworthiness of our borrowers and the value of the real estate and other assets serving as collateral for the repayment of loans. In determining the amount of the allowance for credit losses, we rely on loan quality reviews, past loss experience, and an evaluation of economic conditions, among other factors. If our assumptions prove to be incorrect, our allowance for credit losses may not be enough to cover losses inherent in our loan portfolio, resulting in additions to the allowance. Material additions to the allowance would materially decrease our net income.

Our emphasis on the origination of business and retail loans is one of the more significant factors in evaluating our allowance for credit losses. As we continue to increase the amount of these loans, additional or increased provisions for credit losses may be necessary and as a result would decrease our earnings.

We strive to maintain an appropriate allowance for credit losses to provide for probable losses inherent in the loan portfolio. We periodically determine the amount of the allowance based on consideration of several factors such as default frequency, internal loan grades, expected future cash collections, loss recovery rates and general economic factors, among others. Our methodology for measuring the adequacy of the allowance relies on several key elements, which include a specific allowance for identified problem loans and a general systematic allowance.

We believe our allowance for credit losses is currently sufficient given the constant monitoring of the risk inherent in the loan portfolio. However, there is no precise method of predicting loan losses and therefore we always face the risk that charge-offs in future periods will exceed the allowance for credit losses and that additional increases in the allowance for credit losses will be required. In addition, the FDIC as well as the OCFI may require us to establish additional reserves. Additions to the allowance for credit losses would result in a decrease of net earnings and capital and could hinder our ability to pay dividends.

Given the economic conditions in Puerto Rico, we may continue to experience increased credit costs or need to take greater than anticipated markdowns and make greater than anticipated provisions to increase the allowances for loan losses that could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations in the future.

Bank regulators periodically review our allowance for credit losses and may require us to increase our provision for credit losses or loan charge-offs. Any increase in our allowance for credit losses or loan charge-offs as required by these regulatory authorities could have a materially adverse effect on our results of operations and/or financial condition.

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We are subject to default and other risks in connection with mortgage loan originations.

From the time that we fund the mortgage loans originated to the time that they are sold, we are generally at risk for any mortgage loan defaults. Once we sell the mortgage loans, the risk of loss from mortgage loan defaults and foreclosures passes to the purchaser or insurer of the mortgage loans. However, in the ordinary course of business, we make representations and warranties to the purchasers and insurers of mortgage loans relating to the validity of such loans. If there is a breach of any of these representations or warranties, we may be required to repurchase the mortgage loan and bear any subsequent loss on the mortgage loan. We also may be required to repurchase mortgage loans in the event that there was improper underwriting or fraud or in the event that the loans become delinquent shortly after they are originated. Any such repurchases in the future may negatively impact our liquidity and operating results. Termination of our ability to sell mortgage products to U.S government-sponsored entities would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, we may be required to indemnify certain purchasers and others against losses they incur in the event of breaches of our representations and warranties and in various other circumstances, including securities fraud claims, and the amount of such losses could exceed the purchase amount of the related loans. Consequently, we may be exposed to credit risk associated with sold loans. In addition, we incur higher liquidity risk with respect to mortgage loans not eligible to be purchased or insured by FNMA, GNMA or FHLMC, due to a lack of secondary market in which to sell these loans. For the year ended December 31, 2020, we repurchased $27.9 million of loans from GNMA and FNMA.

We have established reserves in our consolidated financial statements for potential losses that are considered to be both probable and reasonably estimable related to the mortgage loans sold by us. The adequacy of the reserve and the ultimate amount of losses incurred will depend on, among other things, the actual future mortgage loan performance, the actual level of future repurchase and indemnification requests, the actual success rate of claimants, developments in litigation related to us and the industry, actual recoveries on the collateral, and macroeconomic conditions (including unemployment levels and housing prices). Due to uncertainties relating to these factors, there can be no assurance that our reserves will be adequate or that the total amount of losses incurred will not have a material adverse effect upon our financial condition or results of operations. For additional information related to our allowance for credit losses, see “Note 7—Allowance for Credit Losses” to our consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K.

A continuing decline in the real estate market would likely result in an increase in delinquencies, defaults and foreclosures and in a reduction in loan origination activity, which would adversely affect our financial results.

The residential mortgage loan origination business has historically been cyclical, enjoying periods of strong growth and profitability followed by periods of lower volumes and industry-wide losses. Even though the market for residential mortgage loan originations in Puerto Rico is currently increasing, the level of mortgage loans that we may originate in the future may decline and adversely impact our business. In addition, the residential mortgage loan origination business is impacted by home values. There is a risk that a reduction in housing values could negatively impact our loss levels on the mortgage loan portfolio because the value of the homes underlying the loans is a primary source of repayment in the event of foreclosure.

The decline in Puerto Rico’s economy has had an adverse effect in the credit quality of our loan portfolios. Among other things, during the ongoing recession, we have experienced an increase in the level of non-performing assets and loan loss provision, which adversely affected our profitability. Although the delinquency rates and non-performing assets have decreased recently, they may increase if the recession continues or worsens. If there is another decline in economic activity, additional increases in the allowance for credit losses could be necessary with further adverse effects on our profitability.

Any sustained period of increased delinquencies, foreclosures or losses could harm our ability to sell loans, the price received on the sale of such loans, and the value of the mortgage loan portfolio, all of which could have a negative impact on our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, any material decline in real estate values would weaken our collateral loan-to-value ratios and increase the possibility of loss if a borrower default.

Loans that we acquired in the Scotiabank transaction may be subject to greater than anticipated impairment.

We have made fair value estimates of certain assets and liabilities in recording the Scotiabank PR & USVI Acquisition. Actual values of these assets and liabilities could differ from our estimates, which could result in us not achieving the anticipated benefits of the Scotiabank PR & USVI Acquisition. In addition, Scotiabank’s loan scoring system was different than ours, and as we continue to evaluate their loan portfolio using our systems, we may have to make additional adjustments.

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Given the economic conditions in Puerto Rico, we may continue to experience increased credit costs or need to take greater than anticipated markdowns and make greater than anticipated provisions to increase the allowances for credit losses on the loans acquired that could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations in the future.

OPERATIONS AND BUSINESS RISK

We may not be able to realize the anticipated benefits of the Scotiabank PR & USVI Acquisition.

Our future growth and profitability depend, in part, on the ability to successfully manage the combined operations. The success of the Scotiabank PR & USVI Acquisition will depend on, among other things, our ability to assess the quality of assets acquired, to realize anticipated cost savings and to integrate the acquired companies in a manner that permits growth opportunities and does not materially disrupt our or the acquired business’s existing customer relationships or result in decreased revenue resulting from any loss of customers. If we are not able to successfully achieve these objectives, the anticipated benefits of the Scotiabank PR & USVI Acquisition may not be realized fully or at all or may take longer to realize than expected.

We may experience losses related to fraud and theft.

Oriental has experienced, and may experience in the future, losses incurred due to customer or employee fraud and theft. These losses may be material and negatively affect Oriental’s results of operations, financial condition or prospects. These losses could also lead to significant reputational risks and other effects. The sophistication of external fraud actors continues to increase, and in some cases includes large criminal rings, which increases the resources and infrastructure needed to thwart these attacks. The industry fraud threat continues to evolve, including but not limited to card fraud, check fraud, social engineering and phishing attacks for identity theft and account takeover. Oriental continues to invest in fraud prevention in the forms of people and systems designed to prevent, detect and mitigate the customer and financial impacts.

We are subject to security and operational risks related to our use of technology, including the risk of cyber-attack or cyber theft.

Our operations rely on the secure processing, transmission and storage of confidential information in our computer systems and networks regarding our customers and their accounts. To provide these products and services, we use information systems and infrastructure that we and third-party service providers operate. As a financial institution, we are also subject to and examined for compliance with an array of data protection laws, regulations and guidance, as well as to our own internal privacy and information security policies and programs.

Such incidents may include unauthorized access to our digital systems for purposes of misappropriation of assets, gaining access to sensitive information, corrupting data, or causing operational disruption. Although our information technology structure continues to be subject to cyber attacks, we have not, to our knowledge, experience a breach of cyber-security. Such an event could compromise our confidential information, as well as that of our customers and third parties with whom we interact with and may result in negative consequences.

While we have policies and procedures designated to prevent or limit the effects of a possible security breach of our information systems, if unauthorized persons were somehow to get access to confidential information in our possession or to our proprietary information, it could result in significant legal and financial exposure, damage to our reputation or a loss of confidence in the security of our systems that could adversely affect our business. Though we have insurance against some cyber-risks and attacks, it may not be sufficient to offset the impact of a material loss event.

We rely on third parties to provide services and systems essential to the operation of our business, and any failure, interruption or termination of such services or systems could have a material adverse affect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our business relies on the secure, successful and uninterrupted functioning of our core banking platform, information technology, telecommunications, and loan servicing. We outsource some of our major systems, such as customer data and deposit processing, part of our mortgage loan servicing, internet and mobile banking, and electronic fund transfer systems. The failure or interruption of such systems, or the termination of a third-party software license or any service agreement on which any of these systems or services is based, could interrupt our operations. Because our information technology and telecommunications systems interface with and depend on third-party systems, we could experience service denials if demand for such services exceeds capacity or such systems fail or experience interruptions. In addition, replacing third party service providers could also entail significant delay and expense.

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If sustained or repeated, a failure, denial or termination of such systems or services could result in a deterioration of our ability to process new loans, service existing loans, gather deposits and/or provide customer service. It could also compromise our ability to operate effectively, damage our reputation, result in a loss of customer business and/or subject us to additional regulatory scrutiny and possible financial liability. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Non-Compliance with the USA Patriot Act, Bank Secrecy Act, or other laws and regulations could result in fines and other sanctions.

Financial institutions are generally required under the USA Patriot Act and the Bank Secrecy Act to develop programs to prevent such financial institutions from being used for money-laundering and terrorist financing activities. Financial institutions are generally also required to file suspicious activity reports with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Treasury Department if such activities are detected. These rules also require financial institutions to establish procedures for identifying and verifying the identity of customers seeking to open new financial accounts. We have developed a compliance program reasonably designed to ensure compliance with such laws and regulations. Our failure or the inability to comply with these regulations could result in enforcement actions, fines or penalties, curtailment of expansion opportunities, intervention or sanctions by regulators, costly litigation, or expensive additional internal controls and systems.

Our risk management policies, procedures and systems may be inadequate to mitigate all risks inherent in our various businesses.

A comprehensive risk management function is essential to the financial and operational success of our business. The types of risk we monitor and seek to manage include, but are not limited to, operational, technological, organizational, market, fiduciary, legal, compliance, liquidity and credit risks. We have adopted various policies, procedures and systems to monitor and manage these risks. There can be no assurance that those policies, procedures and systems are adequate to identify and mitigate all risks inherent in our various businesses. Our businesses and the markets in which we operate are also continuously evolving. If we fail to fully understand the implications of changes in our business or the financial markets and to adequately or timely enhance the risk framework to address those changes, we could incur losses. In addition, in a difficult or less liquid market environment, our risk management strategies may not be effective because other market participants may be attempting to use the same or similar strategies to deal with the challenging market conditions. In such circumstances, it may be difficult for us to reduce our risk positions due to the activity of such other market participants.

LIQUIDITY RISK

 Our business could be adversely affected if we cannot maintain access to stable funding sources.

Our business requires continuous access to various funding sources. We are able to fund our operations through deposits as well as through advances from the FHLB-NY and FRB-NY; however, our business may need to access other wholesale funding sources, such as repurchase agreements and brokered deposits, which consisted of approximately 1% of our total interest-bearing liabilities as of December 31, 2020.

Brokered deposits are typically sold through an intermediary to small retail investors. Our ability to continue to attract brokered deposits is subject to variability based upon a number of factors, including volume and volatility in the global securities markets, our credit rating and the relative interest rates that we are prepared to pay for these liabilities. Brokered deposits are generally considered a less stable source of funding than core deposits obtained through retail bank branches. Investors in brokered deposits are generally more sensitive to interest rates and will generally move funds from one depository institution to another based on small differences in interest rates offered on deposits.

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We expect to have continued access to credit from the foregoing sources of funds. However, there can be no assurance that such financing sources will continue to be available or will be available on favorable terms. In a period of financial disruption, or if negative developments occur with respect to us, the availability and cost of funding sources could be adversely affected. In that event, our cost of funds may increase, thereby reducing the net interest income, or we may need to dispose of a portion of the investment portfolio, which, depending upon market conditions, could result in realizing a loss or experiencing other adverse accounting consequences upon such dispositions. The interest rates that we pay on our securities are also influenced by, among other things, applicable credit ratings from recognized rating agencies. A downgrade to any of these credit ratings could affect our ability to access the capital markets, increase our borrowing costs and have a negative impact on our results of operations. Our efforts to monitor and manage liquidity risk may not be successful to deal with dramatic or unanticipated changes in the global securities markets or other reductions in liquidity driven by us or market-related events. In the event that such sources of funds are reduced or eliminated, and we are not able to replace them on a cost-effective basis, we may be forced to curtail or cease our loan origination business and treasury activities, which would have a material adverse effect on our operations and financial condition.

Our ability to receive dividends from our subsidiaries could affect our liquidity and ability to pay dividends.

We are a separate and distinct legal entity from our subsidiaries. Dividends to us from our subsidiaries have represented a major source of funds for us to pay dividends on our common and preferred stock, make payments on corporate debt securities and meet other obligations. There are various U.S. federal and Puerto Rico law limitations on the extent to which Oriental Bank, our main subsidiary, can finance or otherwise supply funds to us through dividends and loans. These limitations include minimum regulatory capital requirements, U.S. federal and Puerto Rico banking law requirements concerning the payment of dividends out of net profits or surplus, Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act and Regulation W of the Federal Reserve Board governing transactions between an insured depository institution and its affiliates, as well as general federal regulatory oversight to prevent unsafe or unsound practices. Further, under the Basel III capital rules adopted by the federal banking regulatory agencies, a banking organization will need to hold a capital conservation buffer (composed of common equity tier 1 capital) greater than 2.5% of total risk-weighted assets to avoid limitations on capital distributions and discretionary bonus payments. Compliance with the capital conservation buffer is determined as of the end of the calendar quarter prior to any such capital distribution or discretionary bonus payment.

If our subsidiaries’ earnings are not sufficient to make dividend payments while maintaining adequate capital levels, our liquidity may be affected, and we may not be able to make dividend payments to our holders of common and preferred stock or payments on outstanding corporate debt securities or meet other obligations, each of which could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations, financial position or perception of financial health.

In addition, our right to participate in a distribution of assets upon a subsidiary’s liquidation or reorganization is subject to the prior claims of the subsidiary’s creditors.

COMPETITIVE AND STRATEGIC RISK

Competition with other financial institutions could adversely affect our profitability.

We face substantial competition in originating loans and in attracting deposits and assets to manage. The competition in originating loans and attracting assets comes principally from other Puerto Rico, U.S., and foreign banks, investment advisors, securities broker-dealers, mortgage banking companies, consumer finance companies, credit unions, insurance companies, and other institutional lenders and purchasers of loans. We will encounter greater competition as we expand our operations. Increased competition may require us to increase the rates paid on deposits or lower the rates charged on loans which could adversely affect our profitability.

We operate in a highly regulated environment and may be adversely affected by changes in federal and local laws and regulations.

Our operations are subject to extensive regulation by federal and local governmental authorities and are subject to various laws and judicial and administrative decisions imposing requirements and restrictions on all or part of our operations. Because our business is highly regulated, the laws, rules and regulations applicable to us are subject to regular modification and change. For example, the Dodd-Frank Act has a broad impact on the financial services industry, including significant regulatory and compliance changes, as discussed under the subheading “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act” in Item 1of this annual report. The changes resulting from the Dodd-Frank Act may impact the profitability of our business activities, require changes to certain of our business practices, impose upon us more stringent capital, liquidity and leverage ratio requirements or otherwise adversely affect our business.

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We may be required to invest significant management attention and resources to evaluate and make necessary changes in order to comply with new statutory and regulatory requirements. Failure to comply with the new requirements may negatively impact our results of operations and financial condition. While we cannot predict what effect any presently contemplated or future changes in the laws or regulations or their interpretations would have on us, these changes could be materially adverse to our investors.

Reputational risk and social factors may impact our results.

Our ability to originate loans and to attract deposits and assets is highly dependent upon the perceptions of consumer, commercial and funding markets of our business practices and our financial health. Negative public opinion could result from actual or alleged conduct in any number of activities or circumstances, including lending practices, regulatory compliance, inadequate protection of customer information, or sales and marketing, and from actions taken by regulators in response to such conduct. Adverse perceptions regarding us could lead to difficulties in originating loans and generating and maintaining accounts as well as in financing them.

In addition, a variety of social factors may cause changes in borrowing activity, including credit card use, payment patterns and the rate of defaults by account holders and borrowers. If consumers develop or maintain negative attitudes about incurring debt, or if consumption trends decline, our business and financial results will be negatively affected.

ACCOUNTING AND TAX RISK

Changes in accounting standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) or other standard-setting bodies may adversely affect our financial statements.

Our financial statements are subject to the application of GAAP, which are periodically revised and/or expanded. Accordingly, from time to time, we are required to adopt new or revised accounting standards issued by FASB. Market conditions have prompted accounting standard setters to promulgate new guidance which further interprets or seeks to revise accounting pronouncements related to financial instruments, structures or transactions as well as to issue new standards expanding disclosures. See “Note 1—Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” to our consolidated financial statements included herein for a discussion of any accounting developments that have been issued but not yet implemented. An assessment of proposed standards is not provided as such proposals are subject to change through the exposure process and, therefore, the effects on our consolidated financial statements cannot be meaningfully assessed. It is possible that future accounting standards that we are required to adopt could change the current accounting treatment that applies to the consolidated financial statements and that such changes could have a material effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our goodwill and other intangible assets could be determined to be impaired in the future and could decrease Oriental’s earnings.

We are required to test our goodwill, core deposit intangible, customer relationship intangible and other intangible assets for impairment on a periodic basis. The impairment testing process considers a variety of factors, including the current market price of our common shares, the estimated net present value of our assets and liabilities, and information concerning the terminal valuation of similarly situated insured depository institutions. If an impairment determination is made in a future reporting period, our earnings and the book value of these intangible assets will be reduced by the amount of the impairment. If an impairment loss is recorded, it will have little or no impact on the tangible book value of our common shares or our regulatory capital levels, but such an impairment loss could significantly restrict Oriental’s ability to make dividend payments without prior regulatory approval.

Based on our annual goodwill impairment test, we determined that no impairment charges were necessary. As of December 31, 2020, we had on our consolidated balance sheet $86.1 million of goodwill in connection with the BBVAPR Acquisition and the FDIC-assisted Eurobank acquisition, $35.0 million of core deposit intangible in connection with the Scotiabank PR & USVI Acquisition and the FDIC-assisted Eurobank acquisition and the BBVAPR Acquisition, a $10.6 million of customer relationship intangible in connection with the Scotiabank PR & USVI Acquisition and the BBVAPR Acquisition, and a $0.3 million of other intangibles in connection with the Scotiabank PR & USVI Acquisition. There can be no assurance that future evaluations of such goodwill or intangibles will not result in any impairment charges. Among other factors, further declines in our common stock as a result of macroeconomic conditions and the general weakness of the Puerto Rico economy, could lead to an impairment of such assets. If such assets become impaired, it could have a negative impact on our results of operations.

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Legislative and other measures that may be taken by Puerto Rico governmental authorities could materially increase our tax burden or otherwise adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Legislative changes, particularly changes in local tax laws, could adversely impact our results of operations. In an effort to address the Commonwealth’s ongoing fiscal problems, the Puerto Rico government has enacted tax reforms in the past providing, among other things, for changes in income tax rates and the expansion of certain taxes, such as the sales and use tax, and may do so again in the future.

We operate two IBE units and an IBE subsidiary pursuant to the IBE Act which provides significant tax advantages. The IBEs have an exemption from Puerto Rico income taxes on interest earned on, or gain realized from the sale of, non-Puerto Rico assets, including U.S. government obligations and certain mortgage-backed securities. This exemption has allowed us to have an effective tax rate below the maximum statutory tax rate. In the past, the Legislature of Puerto Rico has considered proposals to curb the tax benefits afforded to IBEs. For example, Puerto Rico enacted legislation in 2012 under which no new IBEs may be organized and newly organized “international financial entities” are generally subject to a 4% Puerto Rico income tax rate. In the event other legislation is enacted by the Puerto Rico government to eliminate or modify the tax exemption provided to IBEs, the consequences could have a materially adverse impact on our financial results, including an increase in income tax expense and consequently our effective tax rate, adversely affecting our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

Oriental owns a fifteen-story office building located at 254 Muñoz Rivera Avenue, San Juan, Puerto Rico, known as Oriental Center, where its executive offices are located. Oriental operates a full-service branch at the plaza level and our centralized units and subsidiaries occupy approximately 96% of the office floor space. Approximately 4% of the office space is leased to outside tenants.

The Bank owns five branch premises and leases forty-nine branch commercial offices throughout Puerto Rico. As part of the Scotiabank PR & USVI Acquisition on December 31, 2019, Oriental acquired two branch premises in the USVI.

The Bank’s management believes that each of its facilities is well maintained and suitable for its purpose and can readily obtain appropriate additional space as may be required at competitive rates by extending expiring leases or finding alternative space.

At December 31, 2020, the aggregate future rental commitments under the terms of its leases, exclusive of taxes, insurance and maintenance expenses payable by Oriental, was approximately $32.6 million.

Oriental’s investment in premises and equipment, exclusive of leasehold improvements at December 31, 2020, was $138.1 million, gross of accumulated depreciation.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

Oriental and its subsidiaries are defendants in a number of legal proceedings incidental to their business. Oriental is vigorously contesting such claims. Based upon a review by legal counsel and the development of these matters to date, management is of the opinion that the ultimate aggregate liability, if any, resulting from these claims will not have a material adverse effect on Oriental’s financial condition or results of operations.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

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PART II

ITEM 5.MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Oriental’s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “OFG”.

As of December 31, 2020, Oriental had approximately 4,521 holders of record of its common stock, including all directors and officers of Oriental, and beneficial owners whose shares are held in “street” name by securities broker-dealers or other nominees.

Stock Performance Graph

The graph below compares the percentage change in Oriental’s cumulative total stockholder return during the measurement period with the cumulative total return, assuming reinvestment of dividends, of the Russell 2000 Index and the SNL Bank Index.

The cumulative total stockholder return was obtained by dividing (a) the sum of (i) the cumulative amount of dividends per share, assuming dividend reinvestment, for the measurement period beginning December 31, 2015, and (ii) the difference between the share price at the beginning and the end of the measurement period, by (b) the share price at the beginning of the measurement period.

Comparison of 5 Year Cumulative Total Return

Assumes Initial Investment of $100

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ITEM 7.MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2020

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Covid-19 Pandemic 2020

In the first quarter of 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of Covid-19 a pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in authorities implementing numerous measures attempting to contain the spread and impact of Covid-19, such as travel restrictions, quarantines, shelter-in-place orders and limitations on business activity, including closures. These measures are severely restricting global economic activity, disrupting global supply chains, lowering asset valuations, significantly increasing unemployment and underemployment levels, decreasing liquidity in markets for certain securities and causing significant volatility and disruptions in financial markets. To address the economic impact in the U.S., in March and April 2020, the President signed into law four economic stimulus packages to provide relief to businesses and individuals, including the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”). Among other measures, the CARES Act provided $349 billion funding for the Small Business Administration (the “SBA”) Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”), which provides loans to small businesses to keep their employees on payroll and make other eligible payments. The original funding for the PPP was fully allocated by mid-April 2020, with additional funding made available on April 24, 2020 under the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. On December 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, a $900 billion coronavirus relief bill as part of a larger $1.4 trillion omnibus spending and appropriations bill. This bill clarifies certain aspects of the first round of PPP and reopens another round of PPP funding for the hardest hit businesses. It also extends until March 31, 2021 the opportunity for employers to seek tax credits for wages paid for Families First Coronavirus Response Act qualifying emergency paid sick leave or emergency paid Family and Medical Leave Act. The new Coronavirus Relief Act also impacts the real estate sector through new rounds of rental assistance and an extension of the federal eviction moratorium.

On April 9, 2020, the Federal Reserve Board provided additional funding sources for small and mid-sized businesses as well as for state and local governments as they work through cash flow stresses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Additionally, the Federal Reserve Board has taken other steps to provide fiscal and monetary stimuli, including reducing the federal funds rate and the interest rate on the Federal Reserve’s discount window, and implementing programs to promote liquidity in certain securities markets. The Federal Reserve Board, along with other federal banking regulators, has also issued interagency guidance to financial institutions that are working with borrowers affected by Covid-19.

In March, the Puerto Rico and USVI governments shut down non-essential businesses and imposed stay-at-home and other restrictions. Puerto Rico-based claims for unemployment have risen considerably since March of 2020. The Puerto Rico and USVI stay-at-home directives excluded essential businesses, including banks, and Oriental remained open and fully operational as described below. Such directives significantly reduced economic activity in Puerto Rico and the USVI. These measures, however, enabled Puerto Rico to begin the easing of such restrictions on economic activity by the end of the second quarter of 2020 and the beginning of the third, with a noticeable rebound in the local economy.

In response to the pandemic, Oriental has implemented protocols and processes to help protect our employees and clients. These measures include:

 Enhancing workplace safety by providing protective gear, increased sanitation and enforcing social distancing.

 Operating our businesses from remote locations, leveraging our business continuity plans and capabilities that include having approximately 50% of employees work from home, and other employees operating using pre-planned contingency strategies for critical site-based operations. These capabilities have allowed us to continue to service our clients. We will continue to manage the increased operational risk related to the execution of our business continuity plans in accordance with our Risk Framework and Operational Risk Management Program.

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 Expanding health insurance and benefits for employees, including coverage of the Covid-19 tests and related telemedicine, opening insurance networks of laboratories, pharmacies and doctors to ease employee access, and providing safety kits to all employees for personal or family use.

 Providing uninterrupted and excellent levels of service, achieved through several channels, including, phone, digital, branch appointments, ATMs, interactive ATMs, and drive-thru tellers, while maintaining employee and customer safety and social distancing. Oriental was the first bank in Puerto Rico and the USVI to establish consumer and business relief programs accessible online to clients affected by Covid-19 and scheduling appointments at most branches through its webpage.

 Offering assistance to our commercial, consumer and small business clients affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, which included payment deferrals, waivers of certain fees, doubling the amount that can be withdrawn or transferred via online banking and mobile check deposit, elimination of adverse credit reports, participation in the CARES Act and Federal Reserve lending programs for businesses, including the SBA PPP, and continuing to provide access to the important financial services on which our clients rely.

 Launching a digital portal, to make it fast and easy for our commercial clients to apply for PPP loan forgiveness.

In connection with reviewing our financial condition in light of the pandemic, we evaluated our assets, including goodwill and other intangibles, for potential impairment. Based upon our review as of December 31, 2020, no impairments have been recorded and there have been no significant changes in fair value hierarchy classifications. We have also elected to delay for two years the phase-in of the capital impact from our adoption of the new accounting standard on credit losses. For more information, see Regulatory Capital section in the MD&A.

On April 7, 2020, the federal banking agencies along with the National Credit Union Administration, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, in consultation with the state financial regulators, issued an interagency statement revising a March 22, 2020 interagency statement on loan modifications and the reporting for financial institutions working with customers affected by the Covid-19 pandemic (the “Interagency Statement”). The Interagency Statement reconfirmed that efforts to work with borrowers where the loans are prudently underwritten, and not considered past due or carried on nonaccrual status, should not result in the loans automatically being considered modified in a troubled debt restructuring (“TDR”) for accounting and financial reporting purposes, or for purposes of their respective risk-based capital rules, which would otherwise require financial institutions subject to the capital rules to hold more capital. The Interagency Statement also clarified the interaction between its previous guidance and Section 4013 of the CARES Act, which provides certain financial institutions with the option to suspend the application of accounting guidance for TDRs for a limited period of time for loan modifications made to address the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Oriental granted various forms of assistance to customers and clients impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, including payment deferrals. The majority of Oriental’s Covid-19 related loan modifications have not been considered TDRs as:

To the extent that certain modifications do not meet any of the above criteria, Oriental accounts for them as TDRs.

As of December 31, 2020, Oriental had processed Covid-19 payment deferrals for more than 47,000 retail customers for $2.2 billion dollars. For our commercial customers, we had processed relief on $642.6 million dollars in loans. Deferrals have decreased from 30% of total loans in the second quarter to 1% of total loans in the fourth quarter. As of December 31, 2020, Oriental had loans subject to Covid-19 payment deferrals as follows:

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Mortgage loans in the payment deferral program above consist of FHA and VA insured mortgage loans. Most commercial loans represent well-capitalized customers in the hospitality industry. For payment deferral programs that have expired at December 31, 2020, only 3% or $15.9 million, in the auto loan portfolio, 7% or $107.8 million, in the mortgage loan portfolio, 1% or $7.4 million, in the commercial portfolio, and 1% or $1.1 million in the consumer portfolio, have deteriorated to non-performing status. In accordance with Oriental’s policies, all accrued interest receivable of these loans in non-performing status have been reversed.

Additionally, Oriental is a lender for the SBA PPP, a CARES Act program, and other SBA, Federal Reserve Board or United States Treasury programs that have been created in response to the pandemic and may be a lender for programs created in the future. These programs are new and their effects on the Company’s business are uncertain. Through December 31, 2020, Oriental had approved 5,074 PPP loans amounting to $297 million, impacting more than 50,000 employees.

The macro-economic environment for the later part of 2020 has benefited from reduced Covid-19 related government restrictions on economic activity, combined with growing liquidity from the federal stimulus programs Puerto Rico is receiving related to the recovery from hurricane Maria in 2017, the early 2020 earthquakes, and now the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although the macroeconomic outlook has improved towards the end of the year 2020, the future direct and indirect impact of Covid-19 on our businesses, results of operations and financial condition remain highly uncertain. Should current economic conditions persist or deteriorate, this macroeconomic environment may have an adverse effect on our businesses, results of operations and financial condition. For more information on how the risks related to the Covid-19 pandemic may adversely affect our businesses, results of operations and financial condition, see Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors, of this annual report.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES

The accounting and reporting policies followed by Oriental conform with GAAP and general practices within the financial services industry. Oriental’s significant accounting policies are described in detail in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements and should be read in conjunction with this section.

Critical accounting policies require management to make estimates and assumptions, which involve significant judgment about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain and that involve a high degree of subjectivity. These estimates are made under facts and circumstances at a point in time and changes in those facts and circumstances could produce actual results that differ from those estimates. The following MD&A section is a summary of what management considers Oriental’s critical accounting policies and estimates.

Allowance for Credit Losses related to loans collectively evaluated for impairment

One of the most critical and complex accounting estimates is associated with the determination of the allowance for credit losses. The provision for credit losses charged to current operations is based on this determination. As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, Oriental adopted ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (ASC Topic 326), as of January 1, 2020. The total allowance for credit losses as of January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020, which includes loans evaluated on a collective basis, was calculated using this approach.

For a detailed description of the principal factors used to determine the allowance for credit losses related to loans collectively evaluated for impairment and for the principal enhancement’s management made to its methodology, refer to Notes 1 and 7 to the consolidated financial statements.

Oriental’s management evaluates the adequacy of the allowance for credit losses on a quarterly basis following a systematic methodology in order to provide for known and inherent risks in the loan portfolio. In developing its assessment of the adequacy of the allowance for credit losses, Oriental must rely on estimates and exercise judgment regarding matters where the ultimate outcome is unknown, such as economic developments affecting specific customers, industries or markets. Other factors that can affect management’s estimates are the key drivers used for each macroeconomic scenario, the macroeconomic scenarios selected, and the weighting given to each scenario, among others. Changes in the financial condition of individual borrowers, in economic conditions, in historical loss experience and in the condition of the various markets in which collateral may be sold may all affect the required level of the allowance for credit losses. Consequently, the business, financial condition, liquidity, capital and results of operations

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could also be affected.

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FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Oriental had another quarter of strong performance in our core businesses, reflecting our larger scale, solid levels of new loan production, lower cost of funds, higher non-interest income, and reduced expenses.

On a macro-basis, Oriental is benefitting from the improved economic environment in Puerto Rico and the USVI due to the continuing nascent rebound from the easing of Covid-19 restrictions and from pandemic-related stimulus.

Within this environment, Oriental’s success continues to be driven by resiliency, agility, and being more than ready to help customers and communities with their changing product and service needs. During the fourth quarter, Oriental also completed the integration of the Scotiabank PR & USVI Acquisition and related cost-savings. We look forward to realizing the full benefits of our larger scale over the course of 2021. The vaccine inoculations should reduce the threat of Covid-19, and the Puerto Rico and USVI economies should expand from expected federal reconstruction and stimulus payments.

2020 was another challenging year for Puerto Rico, the USVI and Oriental. As in years past, we successfully worked our way through it. Our team members helped customers by swiftly processing loan deferrals; implementing an easy-to-use, fully online PPP application process; managing the rapid influx of deposits; and providing contactless and in-person services in a Covid-safe manner; implementing the Scotiabank integration in the middle of a pandemic.

Fourth quarter of 2020:

Increased Earnings & Revenues: Earnings per share (“EPS”) diluted of $0.42 compared to a loss of $0.05 in the fourth quarter of 2019. Results reflected pre-tax merger and restructuring charges of $10.1 million compared to $21.5 million and total core revenues were $132.8 million compared to $98.4 million in such quarter. Net interest income of $98.7 million increased by 24.7% and non-interest income of $34.0 million increased by 77.4%. Net interest margin was 4.24% compared to 5.34% in such quarter.

Solid Production: New loan originations totaled $485.4 million compared to $404.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. Compared to the third quarter of 2020, production (excluding PPP loans) increased $38.0 million, driven by commercial and mortgage with continued strong levels of auto and consumer lending. The net loan balance declined $77.9 million from $6.6 billion at September 30, 2020 to $6.5 billion at December 31, 2020.

Lower Provision: Provision for credit losses was $14.2 million compared to $23.1 million the fourth quarter of 2019. Fourth quarter of 2020 net charge-offs of $44.8 million included $31.2 million for two acquired commercial loans that were substantially reserved. December 31, 2020 loan deferrals fell to 1.4% of total loans from 2.0% on September 30, 2020.

Core Expenses: Non-interest expenses were $89.0 million compared to $78.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. Excluding merger and Covid-19 related costs, fourth quarter 2020 non-interest expenses of $77.4 million fell $9.4 million from the first quarter of 2020, amounting to approximately $38.0 million in annualized reductions from the Scotiabank PR & USVI Acquisition, exceeding original expectations by about 9%.

Lower Cost of Funds: Cost of funds was 66 basis points compared to 92 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2019. Compared to the third quarter of 2020, cost of funds fell 5 basis points. Customer deposits declined $216.8 million from $8.6 billion at September 30, 2020 to $8.4 billion on December 31, 2020.

Capital Building: Tangible book value per share increased $1.01 to $16.97 compared to the fourth quarter of 2019 and common equity tier 1 capital increased $158.6 million to $894.1 million. The common equity tier 1 ratio was 13.08% versus 12.55% on September 30, 2020 and 10.91% on December 31, 2019, when the Scotiabank PR & USVI Acquisition closed.

Year ended 2020:

Increased Earnings & Revenues: EPS diluted of $1.32 compared to $0.92 in 2019. Total core revenues were $519.3 million versus $396.2 million in 2019, with increases of 26.5% and 51.1% in net interest and non-interest income, respectively. New loan production was $1.7 billion compared to $1.3 billion. Net interest margin was 4.55% compared to 5.37%. The effective tax rate was 21.6% compared to 28.5%.

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Results Included (all amounts pre-tax): Merger and restructuring charges mostly related to the Scotiabank PR & USVI Acquisition of $16.1 million compared to $24.1 million in 2019, and bargain purchase gain from the acquisition of $7.3 million compared to $0.3 million in 2019. 2020 also included $39.9 million in Covid-19 related provision for credit losses and $5.8 million in Covid-19 related expenses.

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ANALYSIS OF RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following tables show major categories of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities, their respective interest income, expenses, yields and costs, and their impact on net interest income due to changes in volume and rates for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019. Comparative 2019 to 2018 information has been omitted pursuant to Item 303(b) of Regulation S-K. For such comparative information, please see Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in Oriental’s 2019 annual report on Form 10-K.

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Net Interest Income

Net interest income is a function of the difference between rates earned on Oriental’s interest-earning assets and rates paid on its interest-bearing liabilities (interest rate spread) and the relative amounts of its interest earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities (interest rate margin). Oriental constantly monitors the composition and re-pricing of its assets and liabilities to maintain its net interest income at adequate levels.

Comparison of the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019

Net interest income of $408.4 million increased $85.6 million from $322.8 million. Interest rate spread decreased 75 basis points to 4.51% from 5.26% and net interest margin decreased 82 basis points to 4.55% from 5.37%. These decreases are mainly due to the net effect of a decrease of 94 basis points in the average yield of total interest-earning assets and a decrease of 19 basis points in the total average cost of interest-bearing liabilities.

Net interest income increased as a result of:

 Higher interest income from loans by $117.6 million, reflecting higher balances as a result of the Scotiabank PR & USVI Acquisition and PPP loan originations, partially offset by a 75 basis points decline in yield from higher proportion of 30-year, fixed rate residential mortgages from such acquisition and the effect of Federal Reserve Board’s rate cuts on variable rate commercial loans;

 $6.5 million in one-time interest recoveries from acquired purchased credit-impaired (“PCI”) Scotiabank loans; and

 Lower interest expenses in borrowings by $6.9 million, reflecting the maturity and early extinguishment of repurchase agreements during 2020.

Such increases in net interest income were adversely impacted by:

 Lower interest income from interest bearing cash and investment securities by $18.0 million, mainly impacted by the Reserve Board’s rate cuts; and

 Higher interest expense from deposits by $20.8 million, mainly related to deposits from the Scotiabank PR & USVI Acquisition and to the increase in customer deposits during the current year, reflecting commercial deposits from existing and new clients, and retail deposits from increased liquidity in the economy.

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