Introduction: According to its annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Popular, Inc. is a publicly traded company. It is a bank holding company, registered under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the "BHC Act"). The company's principle operating subsidiary, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico (Banco Popular) is subject to the supervision and regulation of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The Corporation was incorporated in 1984 under the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is the largest financial institution in Puerto Rico, with total consolidated assets of $36.4ábillion, total deposits of $18.1ábillion and stockholders' equity of $2.8ábillion at December 31, 2003.
áááááBanco Popular was incorporated in 1893 and is Puerto Rico's largest bank with consolidated total assets of $22.2ábillion, deposits of $13.3 billion and stockholder's equity of $1.8ábillion at Decemberá31, 2003. The Bank accounted for 61% of the total consolidated assets of the Popular Corporation at Decemberá31, 2003. Banco Popular operating 193 branches and over 550 automated teller machines in Puerto Rico.
Competition: The banking business is highly competitive. In addition to competition from other commercial banks, banks face significant competition from non-bank financial institutions. For example, Savings and Loan associations compete aggressively with commercial banks for deposits and loans. Credit unions and finance companies are significant competitors in the consumer loan market. Investment firms are significant competitors for some types of business.
Banco Popular compete for deposits with a broad spectrum of other types of investments such as mutual funds, stocks and debt securities of corporations, and debt securities of the federal government, state governments and their respective agencies. The principal methods of competition for financial services are price ...