Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ: BPOP) announced that Banco Popular de Puerto Rico (BPPR), its Puerto Rico-based banking subsidiary, was selected “Bank of the Year - Puerto Rico” by The Banker, The Financial Times’ international banking magazine. BPPR has received this notable recognition for eight consecutive years.

According to The Banker, Banco Popular impressed the judges with its solid financial performance and a well-managed Covid-19 response strategy, which ensured an efficient disbursement of loans for its small and medium-sized enterprise clients (SME) based in Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and the mainland US. Under the US Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the bank processed nearly 50,000 loans with a total value of more than $2.1bn. The Banker judges also recognized that while many Puerto Rican institutions outsourced the loan processing, Banco Popular’s launch of its own digital platform created specifically for PPP processing enabled the bank to speed up a loan disbursement process from several weeks to a few days.

The Banker judges also acknowledged BPPR’s commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) business practices and its revised lending policy, which considers each transaction’s potential environmental and social impact.

“We are honored to receive the Banker’s recognition for supporting small business, enhancing our ESG efforts, and assisting our customers,” said Ignacio Alvarez, President and CEO of Popular, Inc. “Popular remains committed to promoting the wellbeing of our communities and employees as well as fostering a culture that values diversity, equity and inclusion.”

The Banker is a financial intelligence magazine, founded in 1926, and provides international bank ratings. Recognized as the industry standard for banking excellence, The Banker’s Bank of the Year award is contested by the world’s leading financial institutions, with winners chosen across Africa, Asia-Pacific, Central & Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, North America and Western Europe. This marks the 22^nd year of the rankings and awards.

About Popular, Inc.

Popular, Inc. (NASDAQ: BPOP) is the leading financial institution in Puerto Rico, by both assets and deposits, and ranks among the top 50 U.S. bank holding companies by assets. Founded in 1893, Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, Popular’s principal subsidiary, provides retail, mortgage and commercial banking services in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Popular also offers in Puerto Rico auto and equipment leasing and financing, investment banking, broker-dealer and insurance services through specialized subsidiaries. In the mainland United States, Popular provides retail, mortgage and commercial banking services through its New York-chartered banking subsidiary, Popular Bank, which has branches located in New York, New Jersey and Florida.

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