Popular’s (BPOP) New CEO Inherits a Bank at Full Strength – C-Suite Transitions

When I came across Popular, I was reminded of another bank called Columbia Banking System (COLB), both in terms of the size of the bank’s assets and its regional focus. I was following Columbia closely for years and almost pulled the trigger on buying it during the regional bank crisis of 2023, when the stock dipped into the high-teens and sported a dividend yield of 8%. A conversation with a bank-focused fund manager made me pause. His feedback wasn’t negative but mostly neutral and I realize now that I should have used the conviction of my own research over relying on external feedback, even if it was coming from an industry expert. I wrote the following about Columbia in an Insider Weekends article in early 2024:

“I’ve been banking with Umpqua Bank for my business for over 20 years. I once wrote an article about the company in 2008 called Umpqua Holdings: Can the Free Cookies Last? and had an opportunity to interview its prior CEO Ray Davis during the depths of the Great Recession.

Following the merger between Umpqua Bank and Columbia Banking System the parent company is called Columbia but the bank is primarily doing business as Umpqua Bank. The deal was first announced in October 2021 and was finally completed on March 1, 2023. Through the merger, Columbia Banking System became the largest bank headquartered in the Northwest, growing to over $50 billion in assets and 300 locations across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, and other states.”

I don’t normally invest in banks but feel that Popular could help me atone for my sin of omission with Columbia Bank.

Popular doesn’t always grab the headlines, but it has quietly built one of the strongest regional banking franchises in the U.S. With a dominant position in Puerto Rico and a growing mainland business, the bank has consistently delivered solid results while many regional lenders have struggled with higher interest rates and funding costs. That makes its recent CEO transition particularly noteworthy, not because the bank needs a turnaround, but because it is entering a new phase from a position of strength. The question is whether the new CEO, Jorge García, a planned internal succession, will add further momentum to Popular’s story.

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