FirstBank is a Puerto Rico-based bank that provides personal, commercial, and corporate banking services to consumers predominantly located in Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and Florida. The bank is a subsidiary of First Bancorp, a publicly traded bank holding company (NYSE:FBP), and is registered with the FDIC.
On its personal banking side, FirstBank offers checking, savings, Certificate of Deposit (CD), and IRA certificate accounts to its retail customers. The basic checking account includes free features like no monthly fees, ATM transactions, unlimited checks, ATM card, and telephone banking. FirstBank’s interest-bearing checking accounts offer attractive interest rates that are tiered with account balances and have monthly service fees unless direct deposit or minimum balance requirements are not met. A basic savings account comes with a debit card and direct deposit and pays a higher than average rate of interest. Children’s savings accounts are also available and function similarly to the other savings offerings, with no service fees.
IRA Certificate accounts are offered in 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-year term lengths and contributions are tax deductible. Certificates of Deposit give the flexibility to choose how often interest is paid back, and DepositAccounts.com has recognized FirstBank several times in the past for its CDs. As far as investment and insurance services, the bank offers UBS financial consultants for guidance to its customers. On the commercial side, FirstBank offers similar accounts, business cash management services, and point of sale services.
FirstBank online banking is a secure web-based platform on which customers can perform account management tasks like viewing check images, paying bills, reordering checks, exporting transactions to money management software, and transferring funds. The bank’s website is also optimized to make it convenient to use as a mobile banking tool from smartphones and tablets.
FirstBank of Puerto Rico was originally established as a Savings & Loan institution in 1948, and was the first such institution of its kind in Puerto Rico. In 1987, the bank changed its organization type to a stock savings bank, and seven years later transitioned to its current name. The bank participated in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in 2008 and has since paid most of its loans back to the government. It is headquartered in Santurce, Puerto Rico, and operates several branches in the Orlando and Miami areas of the state of Florida.
