8-K

 

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported): March 5, 2008

First BanCorp.
__________________________________________
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Puerto Rico	001-14793	66-0561882
_____________________ (State or other jurisdiction	_____________ (Commission	______________ (I.R.S. Employer
of incorporation)	File Number)	Identification No.)
1519 Ponce de Leon Ave., PO Box 9146, San Juan, Puerto Rico		00908-0146
_________________________________ (Address of principal executive offices)		___________ (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 787-729-8041

Not Applicable
______________________________________________
Former name or former address, if changed since last report

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

[  ]  Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
[  ]  Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
[  ]  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
[  ]  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 8.01 Other Events.

On March 5, 2008, First BanCorp (or the "Corporation") issued a press release which announced that the Board of Directors has declared the next payment of dividends on Common, Series A through E Preferred and Trust Preferred I & II shares. A copy of the press release is incorporated herein by reference from Exhibit 99.1.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d)Exhibits

Exhibit No. Description
99.1 Press Release dated March 5, 2008

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

	First BanCorp.
March 6, 2008	By:	Fernando Scherrer
		Name: Fernando Scherrer
		Title: Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Exhibit Index

Exhibit No.	Description
99.1	Press Release dated March 5, 2008

EX-99.1

Alan Cohen
Senior Vice President, Marketing and Public Relations
Office (787) 729-8256
alan.cohen@firstbankpr.com

FIRST BANCORP ANNOUNCES PAYMENT OF COMMON, PREFERRED AND TRUST PREFERRED DIVIDENDS

San Juan, Puerto Rico, March 5, 2008 — First BanCorp (NYSE:FBP) today announced that the Board of Directors has declared the next payment of dividends on Common, Series A through E Preferred and Trust Preferred I & II shares. Common stockholders of record as of March 15, 2008 will receive the 51^st consecutive quarterly dividend payment declared by First BanCorp’s Board of Directors, in the amount of $0.07 per share for the 1^st quarter of 2008, payable on March 31, 2008.

The estimated dividend amounts per share, record dates and payment dates for the Series A through E Preferred Shares are:

Series	$Per/share		Record Date	Payment Date
A		0.1484375	March 27, 2008	March 31, 2008
B		0.17395833	March 15, 2008	March 31, 2008
C		0.1541666	March 15, 2008	March 31, 2008
D		0.15104166	March 15, 2008	March 31, 2008
E		0.14583333	March 15, 2008	March 31, 2008

Approval was obtained as a part of First BanCorp’s previously announced agreement with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

About First BanCorp
First BanCorp is the parent corporation of FirstBank Puerto Rico, a state-chartered commercial bank with operations in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Florida; of FirstBank Insurance Agency; and of Ponce General Corporation. First BanCorp, FirstBank Puerto Rico and FirstBank Florida, the thrift subsidiary of Ponce General, all operate within U.S. banking laws and regulations. The Corporation operates a total of 171 financial services facilities throughout Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and Florida. Among the subsidiaries of FirstBank Puerto Rico are Money Express, a finance company; First Leasing and Car Rental, a car and truck rental leasing company; and FirstMortgage, a mortgage origination company. In the U.S. Virgin Islands, FirstBank operates First Insurance VI, an insurance agency and First Express, a small loan company. First BanCorp’s common and preferred shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols FBP, FBPPrA, FBPPrB, FBPPrC, FBPPrD and FBPPrE.

Safe Harbor
This press release may contain “forward-looking statements” concerning First BanCorp’s (the “Corporation”) future economic performance. The words or phrases “expect,” “anticipate,” “look forward,” “should,” “believes” and similar expressions are meant to identify “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation reform Act of 1995. The Corporation wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such “forward-looking statements,” which speak only as of the date made, and to advise readers that various factors, including the deteriorating economic conditions in Puerto Rico, the impact of the consent order with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on the Corporation’s future operations and results, the Corporation’s ability to continue to implement the terms of the consent order, FirstBank’s ability to issue brokered certificates of deposit, its liquidity, the ability to fund operations, changes in the interest rate environment, the deteriorating regional and national economic conditions, including the risks arising from credit and other risks of the Corporation’s lending and investment activities, particularly the condo conversion loans in its Miami Agency, any need to classify additional loans as non-performing loans as a result of the deterioration in the economic conditions of Puerto Rico or the U.S. market or for other reasons, competitive and regulatory factors and legislative changes, could affect the Corporation’s financial performance and could cause the Corporation’s actual results for future periods to differ materially from those anticipated or projected. The Corporation does not undertake, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to update any “forward-looking statements” to reflect occurrences or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

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