PRESS RELEASE

R&G FINANCIAL CORPORATION                    Investor Contact:

                                             Victor J. Galan
                                             Chairman of the Board and Chief
                                               Executive Officer
                                             Phone (787) 766-8301




  R&G FINANCIAL CORPORATION ANNOUNCES U.S. EXPANSION THROUGH THE ACQUISITION OF
                      FLORIDA-BASED THE CROWN GROUP, INC.

San Juan, Puerto Rico - December 19, 2001 - R&G Financial Corporation ("R&G")
(Nasdaq: RGFC) announced today the signing of a definitive merger agreement
pursuant to which R&G will acquire The Crown Group, Inc., a Florida corporation
("Crown"), and its wholly owned savings bank subsidiary, Crown Bank, a Federal
Savings Bank. This acquisition will bring R&G's successful banking franchise in
Puerto Rico to Florida. Crown, which is headquartered in the Orlando
metropolitan area, had consolidated assets of $647 million, deposits of $452
million and consolidated stockholders' equity of $78 million as of September 30,
2001. Crown Bank has 14 full service branch offices located in the Tampa/St.
Petersburg/Clearwater and Orlando metropolitan areas.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, which was approved unanimously by both
Boards of Directors, holders of Crown common stock will receive an aggregate of
$100.0 million in cash and a $5.0 million, five year 6 3/4% Subordinated
Debenture. The acquisition, which is expected to be accretive to earnings per
share in 2002, is expected to close during the second quarter of the calendar
year 2002, pending the receipt of all requisite regulatory approvals and the
approval of Crown's shareholders.

Victor J. Galan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of R&G, stated "We are
very excited about the acquisition of Crown. This acquisition allows us to
replicate our successful Puerto Rico business model in Florida and positions R&G
to gain significant market share in Orlando and Tampa Bay, cities that have
large Hispanic populations. This acquisition will allow us to build a strong
platform for further expansion in Florida and continue our strategy of growing
our banking operations, while providing lower cost of deposit funding than
generally available in Puerto Rico.

John A. Koegel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Crown, added "We are
excited about our future prospects with R&G. R&G is committed to continuing the
Crown tradition of community banking excellence for our customers and the
communities we serve."

R&G, currently in its 29th year of operations, is a diversified financial
holding company with operations in Puerto Rico and the United States, providing
banking, mortgage banking, investments, consumer finance and insurance through
its wholly-owned subsidiaries R-G Premier Bank of Puerto Rico, one of the
fastest growing commercial banks in Puerto Rico, R&G Mortgage Corp., Puerto
Rico's second largest mortgage banker, Mortgage Store of Puerto Rico, Inc.,
Continental Capital Corporation, the second largest FHA/VA mortgage loan
originator in the New York metro area, R-G Investments Corporation, a securities
broker-dealer, and Home and Property Insurance Corporation. R&G has a combined
network of 63 branches (34 mortgage offices in Puerto Rico, 4 mortgage offices
in the U.S., and 25 bank branches mainly located in the northeastern section of
Puerto Rico). At September 30,




2001, R&G had $4.3 billion of total assets, $453.5 million of stockholders'
equity, and a $7.1 billion servicing portfolio.

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP acted as legal counsel and UBS Warburg LLC acted as
financial advisor to R&G. Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP acted as legal counsel
and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. acted as financial advisor to Crown.

R&G encourages investors to visit its investor relations website, located at
www.rgonline.com/financial/move.html, for a full presentation on the Crown Group
transaction.

Management of R&G will deliver a presentation in relation to the Crown Group
transaction on Thursday, December 20, 2001 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Persons
interested in hearing the presentation may call in by dialing 1-800-482-5543,
Conference ID# 1417158, R & G Financial Corporation, Moderator: Victor Galan.

Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts may
constitute forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934) which involve significant risks and
uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results discussed
in these forward-looking statements. These include securing all necessary
governmental and other approvals, the satisfaction of all conditions to the
merger, changes in business or other market conditions, and the success of the
business combination as planned by the parties. These and other factors could
adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events
described herein.

                                      -END-