The Corporation transfers residential mortgage loans in sale or securitization transactions in which it has continuing involvement, including servicing responsibilities and guarantee arrangements. All such transfers have been accounted for as sales as required by applicable accounting guidance.

When evaluating transfers and other transactions with Variable Interest Entities (“VIEs”) for consolidation, the Corporation first determines if the counterparty is an entity for which a variable interest exists. If no scope exception is applicable and a variable interest exists, the Corporation then evaluates if it is the primary beneficiary of the VIE and whether the entity should be consolidated or not.

Below is a summary of transfers of financial assets to VIEs for which the Corporation has retained some level of continuing involvement:

The Corporation typically transfers first lien residential mortgage loans in conjunction with GNMA securitization transactions in which the loans are exchanged for cash or securities that are readily redeemed for cash proceeds and servicing rights. The securities issued through these transactions are guaranteed by the issuer and, as such, under seller/servicer agreements, the Corporation is required to service the loans in accordance with the issuer's servicing guidelines and standards. As of March 31, 2015, the Corporation serviced loans securitized through GNMA with a principal balance of $1.2 billion.

In 2004, FBP Statutory Trust I, a financing subsidiary of the Corporation, sold to institutional investors $100 million of its variable rate trust-preferred securities. The proceeds of the issuance, together with the proceeds of the purchase by the Corporation of $3.1 million of FBP Statutory Trust I variable rate common securities, were used by FBP Statutory Trust I to purchase $103.1 million aggregate principal amount of the Corporation's Junior Subordinated Deferrable Debentures. Also in 2004, FBP Statutory Trust II, a statutory trust that is wholly owned by the Corporation, sold to institutional investors $125 million of its variable rate trust-preferred securities. The proceeds of the issuance, together with the proceeds of the purchase by the Corporation of $3.9 million of FBP Statutory Trust II variable rate common securities, were used by FBP Statutory Trust II to purchase $128.9 million aggregate principal amount of the Corporation's Junior Subordinated Deferrable Debentures. The debentures are presented in the Corporation's consolidated statement of financial condition as Other Borrowings, net of related issuance costs. The variable rate trust-preferred securities are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by the Corporation. The $100 million Junior Subordinated Deferrable Debentures issued by the Corporation in April 2004 and the $125 million issued in September 2004 mature on June 17, 2034 and September 20, 2034, respectively; however, under certain circumstances, the maturity of Junior Subordinated Deferrable Debentures may be shortened (such shortening would result in a mandatory redemption of the variable rate trust-preferred securities). The Collins Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act eliminates certain trust-preferred securities from Tier 1 Capital. Bank holding companies, such as the Corporation, must fully phase out these instruments from Tier 1 capital by January 1, 2016 (25% allowed in 2015 and 0% in 2016); however, these instruments may remain in Tier 2 capital until the instruments are redeemed or mature. The Corporation has elected to defer the interest payments that were due on quarterly periods since March 2012. The aggregate amount of payments deferred and accrued approximates $23.7 million as of March 31, 2015. Under the indentures, the Corporation has the right, from time to time, and without causing an event of default, to defer payments of interest on the subordinated debentures by extending the interest payment period at any time and from time to time during the term of the subordinated debentures for up to twenty consecutive quarterly periods. Future interest payments are subject to Federal Reserve approval.

During 2004 and 2005, a third party to the Corporation, from now on identified as the seller, established a series of statutory trusts to effect the securitization of mortgage loans and the sale of trust certificates. The seller initially provided the servicing for a fee, which is senior to the obligations to pay trust certificate holders. The seller then entered into a sales agreement through which it sold and issued the trust certificates in favor of the Corporation's banking subsidiary. Currently, the Bank is the sole owner of the trust certificates; the servicing of the underlying residential mortgages that generate the principal and interest cash flows, is performed by another third party, which receives a servicing fee. The securities are variable rate securities indexed to 90-day LIBOR plus a spread. The principal payments from the underlying loans are remitted to a paying agent (servicer) who then remits interest to the Bank; interest income is shared to a certain extent with the FDIC, which has an interest only strip (“IO”) tied to the cash flows of the underlying loans and is entitled to receive the excess of the interest income less a servicing fee over the variable rate income that the Bank earns on the securities. This IO is limited to the weighted average coupon of the securities. The FDIC became the owner of the IO upon the intervention of the seller, a failed financial institution. No recourse agreement exists and the risk from losses on non accruing loans and repossessed collateral is absorbed by the Bank as the sole holder of the certificates. As of March 31, 2015, the amortized balance and carrying value of the Grantor Trusts amounted to $43.0 million and $31.7 million, respectively, with a weighted average yield of 2.15%.

On February 16, 2011, FirstBank sold an asset portfolio consisting of performing and non-performing construction, commercial mortgage and commercial and industrial loans with an aggregate book value of $269.3 million to CPG/GS, an entity organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and majority owned by PRLP Ventures LLC ("PRLP"), a company created by Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Caribbean Property Group. In connection with the sale, the Corporation received $88.5 million in cash and a 35% interest in CPG/GS, and made a loan in the amount of $136.1 million representing seller financing provided by FirstBank. The loan had a seven-year maturity and bears variable interest at 30-day LIBOR plus 300 basis points and is secured by a pledge of all of the acquiring entity's assets as well as the PRLP's 65% ownership interest in CPG/GS. As of March 31, 2015, the carrying amount of the loan was $25.2 million, which was included in the Corporation's Commercial and Industrial loans held for investment portfolio. FirstBank's equity interest in CPG/GS is accounted for under the equity method and included as part of Investment in unconsolidated entity in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition. When applying the equity method, the Bank follows the HLBV method to determine its share in CPG/GS's earnings or loss. Under HLBV, the Bank determines its share in CPG/GS's earnings or loss by determining the difference between its “claim on CPG/GS's book value” at the end of the period as compared to the beginning of the period. This claim is calculated as the amount the Bank would receive if CPG/GS were to liquidate all of its assets at recorded amounts determined in accordance with GAAP and distribute the resulting cash to the investors, PRLP, and FirstBank, according to their respective priorities as provided in the contractual agreement. The Bank reports its share of CPG/GS's operating results on a one-quarter lag basis. In addition, as a result of using HLBV, the difference between the Bank's investment in CPG/GS and its claim on the book value of CPG/GS at the date of the investment, known as the basis difference, is amortized over the estimated life of the investment, or five years. CPG/GS records its loans receivable under the fair value option. The loss recorded in the first half of 2014 reduced to zero the carrying amount of the Bank's investment in CPG/GS. No negative investment needs to be reported as the Bank has no legal obligation or commitment to provide further financial support to this entity; thus, no further losses will be recorded on this investment. Any potential increase in the carrying value of the investment in CPG/GS, under the HLBV method, would depend upon how better off the Bank is at the end of the period than it was at the beginning of the period after the waterfall calculation performed to determine the amount of gain allocated to the investors.

FirstBank also provided an $80 million advance facility to CPG/GS to fund unfunded commitments and costs to complete projects under construction, which was fully disbursed in 2011, and a $20 million working capital line of credit to fund certain expenses of CPG/GS. During 2013, the working capital line of credit was renewed and reduced to $7 million for a period of two years expiring on September 2015. During 2012, CPG/GS repaid the outstanding balance of the advance facility to fund unfunded commitments, and the funds became available to redraw under a one-time revolver agreement. These loans bear variable interest at 30-day LIBOR plus 300 basis points. As of March 31, 2015, the carrying values of the revolver agreement and the working capital line were $38.4 million and $0, respectively, and are included in the Corporation's commercial and industrial loans held for investment portfolio.

Cash proceeds received by CPG/GS are first used to cover operating expenses and debt service payments, including the note receivable, the advance facility, and the working capital line, described above, which must be substantially repaid before proceeds can be used for other purposes, including the return of capital to both PRLP and FirstBank. FirstBank will not receive any return on its equity interest until PRLP receives an aggregate amount equivalent to its initial investment and a priority return of at least 12%, resulting in FirstBank's interest in CPG/GS being subordinate to PRLP's interest. CPG/GS will then begin to make payments pro rata to PRLP and FirstBank, 35% and 65%, respectively, until FirstBank has achieved a 12% return on its invested capital and the aggregate amount of distributions is equal to FirstBank's capital contributions to CPG/GS.

The Bank has determined that CPG/GS is a VIE in which the Bank is not the primary beneficiary. In determining the primary beneficiary of CPG/GS, the Bank considered applicable guidance that requires the Bank to qualitatively assess the determination of the primary beneficiary (or consolidator) of CPG/GS based on whether it has both the power to direct the activities of CPG/GS that most significantly impact the entity's economic performance and the obligation to absorb losses of CPG/GS that could potentially be significant to the VIE or the right to receive benefits from the entity that could potentially be significant to the VIE.

The Bank determined that it does not have the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of CPG/GS as it does not have the right to manage the loan portfolio, impact foreclosure proceedings, or manage the construction and sale of the property; therefore, the Bank concluded that it is not the primary beneficiary of CPG/GS. As a creditor to CPG/GS, the Bank has certain rights related to CPG/GS; however, these are intended to be protective in nature and do not provide the Bank with the ability to manage the operations of CPG/GS. Since CPG/GS is not a consolidated subsidiary of the Bank and the transaction met the criteria for sale accounting under authoritative guidance, the Bank accounted for this transaction as a true sale, recognizing the cash received, the notes receivable, and the interest in CPG/GS and derecognizing the loan portfolio sold.

The initial fair value of the investment in CPG/GS was determined using techniques with significant unobservable (Level 3) inputs. The valuation inputs included an estimate of future cash flows, expectations about possible variations in the amount and timing of cash flows, and a discount factor based on a rate of return. The Corporation researched available market data and internal information (i.e., proposals received for the servicing of distressed assets and public disclosures and other information about similar structures and/or of distressed asset sales) and determined reasonable ranges of expected returns for FirstBank's equity interest.

The rate of return of 17.57% was used as the discount factor to estimate the value of FirstBank's equity interest and represents the Bank's estimate of the yield a market participant would require. A reasonable range of equity returns was assessed based on consideration of a range of company-specific risk premiums. The valuation of this type of equity interest is highly subjective and somewhat dependent on nonobservable market assumptions, which may result in variations from market participant to market participant.

The following table shows summarized unaudited income statement information of CPG/GS for the quarters ended March 31, 2015 and 2014:

	Quarter Ended
	March 31,		March 31,
	2015		2014
	(In thousands)
Revenues, including net realized gains on sale of
investments in loans and OREO	$	588	$	751
Gross profit (loss)	$	(8,240)	$	(1,508)
Net loss	$	(7,751)	$	(2,447)

The Corporation is actively involved in the securitization of pools of FHA-insured and VA-guaranteed mortgages for issuance of GNMA mortgage-backed securities. Also, certain conventional conforming loans are sold to FNMA or FHLMC with servicing retained. The Corporation recognizes as separate assets the rights to service loans for others, whether those servicing assets are originated or purchased.

The changes in servicing assets are shown below:

		Quarter ended
		March 31,		March 31,
		2015		2014
			(In thousands)
Balance at beginning of period		$	22,838	$	21,987
Capitalization of servicing assets			1,073		1,052
Amortization			(856)		(783)
Adjustment to fair value			(38)		(219)
Other (1)			(44)		(11)
Balance at end of period		$	22,973	$	22,026

(1)	Amount represents the adjustment to fair value related to the repurchase of loans serviced for others.

Impairment charges are recognized through a valuation allowance for each individual stratum of servicing assets. The valuation allowance is adjusted to reflect the amount, if any, by which the cost basis of the servicing asset for a given stratum of loans being serviced exceeds its fair value. Any fair value in excess of the cost basis of the servicing asset for a given stratum is not recognized.

Changes in the impairment allowance were as follows:

	Quarter ended
	March 31,		March 31,
	2015		2014
		(In thousands)
Balance at beginning of period	$	55	$	212
Temporary impairment charges		58		219
Recoveries		(20)		-
Balance at end of period	$	93	$	431

	The components of net servicing income are shown below:

		Quarter ended
		March 31,		March 31,
		2015		2014
			(In thousands)
Servicing fees		$	1,764	$	1,671
Late charges and prepayment penalties			190		164
Adjustment for loans repurchased			(44)		(11)
Other (1)			(89)		(358)
Servicing income, gross			1,821		1,466
Amortization and impairment of servicing assets			(894)		(1,002)
Servicing income, net		$	927	$	464

(1)	Mainly consisted of compensatory fees imposed by GSEs and losses related to representations and warranties.

The Corporation's servicing assets are subject to prepayment and interest rates risks. Constant prepayment rate assumptions for the Corporation's servicing assets for the government guaranteed mortgage loans were 9.2% and 9.1% for the quarters ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. For conventional conforming mortgage loans, the Corporation used 9.0% and 8.9%, and for the conventional non-conforming mortgage loans 14.0% and 13.4%, for the quarters ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Discount rate assumptions used were 11.5% for government guaranteed mortgage loans for each of the quarters ended March 31, 2015 and 2014; 9.5% for conventional conforming mortgage loans for each of the quarters ended March 31, 2015 and 2014; and 13.8% and 13.9% for conventional non-conforming mortgage loans for the quarters ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

As of March 31, 2015, fair values of the Corporation's servicing assets were based on a valuation model that incorporates market driven assumptions regarding discount rates and mortgage prepayment rates, adjusted by the particular characteristics of the Corporation's servicing portfolio. The weighted-averages of the key economic assumptions used by the Corporation in its valuation model and the sensitivity of the current fair value to immediate 10% and 20% adverse changes in those assumptions for mortgage loans as of March 31, 2015 were as follows:

	(Dollars in thousands)
Carrying amount of servicing assets	$	22,973
Fair value	$	25,195
Weighted-average expected life (in years)		8.47

Constant prepayment rate (weighted-average annual rate)		10.25%
Decrease in fair value due to 10% adverse change	$	948
Decrease in fair value due to 20% adverse change	$	1,838

Discount rate (weighted-average annual rate)		10.62%
Decrease in fair value due to 10% adverse change	$	1,050
Decrease in fair value due to 20% adverse change	$	2,020

These sensitivities are hypothetical and should be used with caution. As the figures indicate, changes in fair value based on a 10% variation in assumptions generally cannot be extrapolated because the relationship of the change in assumption and the change in fair value may not be linear. Also, in this table, the effect of a variation in a particular assumption on the fair value of the servicing asset is calculated without changing any other assumption; in reality, changes in one factor may result in changes in another (for example, increases in market interest rates may result in lower prepayments), which may magnify or counteract the sensitivities.