EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2023

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS [Abstract]

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

NOTE 16 – EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

The Corporation maintains two frozen qualified noncontributory defined benefit pension plans (the “Pension Plans”), and a related

complementary post-retirement benefit plan (the “Postretirement Benefit Plan”) covering medical benefits and life insurance after

retirement that it obtained in the Banco Santander Puerto Rico (“BSPR”) acquisition on September 1, 2020. One defined benefit

pension plan covers substantially all of BSPR’s former employees who were active before January 1, 2007, while the other defined

benefit pension plan covers personnel of an institution previously acquired by BSPR. Benefits are based on salary and years of service.

The accrual of benefits under the Pension Plans is frozen to all participants. 

The Corporation requires recognition of a plan’s overfunded and underfunded status as an asset or liability with an offsetting

adjustment to accumulated other comprehensive loss pursuant to the ASC Topic 715, “Compensation-Retirement Benefits.”

The following table presents the components of net periodic cost (benefit) for the indicated periods:

Affected Line Item

in the Consolidated

Quarter Ended September 30, 

Nine-Month Period Ended September 30, 

Statements of Income

2023

2022

2023

2022

(In thousands)

Net periodic cost (benefit), pension plans:

Interest cost

Other expenses

$

950

$

654

$

2,850

$

1,962

Expected return on plan assets

Other expenses

(886)

(1,040)

(2,657)

(3,119)

Net periodic cost (benefit), pension plans

64

(386)

193

(1,157)

Net periodic cost, postretirement plan

Other expenses

7

2

19

5

Net periodic cost (benefit)

$

71

$

(384)

$

212

$

(1,152)