BPOPN Popular Inc

Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation announces that a class action lawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of Popular, Inc. ("Popular" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: BPOPN) during the period between January 23, 2008 and January 22, 2009, inclusive (the "Class Period").

No class has yet been certified in the above action. Members of the Class will be represented by the lead plaintiff and counsel chosen by the lead plaintiff. If you wish to choose counsel to represent you and the Class, you must apply to be appointed lead plaintiff no later than July 13, 2009 and be selected by the Court. The lead plaintiff will direct the litigation and participate in important decisions including whether to accept a settlement and how much of a settlement to accept for the Class in the action. The lead plaintiff will be selected from among applicants claiming the largest loss from investment in the Company during the Class Period. You may contact Brower Piven (through hoffman@browerpiven.com or 410/986-0036) to answer any questions you may have in that regard.

The complaint accuses the defendants of violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by virtue of the Company's failure to disclose during the Class Period that the Company's deferred tax assets related to its U.S. operations were materially overstated; that the Company was experiencing increasing loan losses in Puerto Rico and the U.S. construction sectors; that the quality of the Company's remaining mortgage-related loans in its U.S. mainland portfolios and other assets were deteriorating and were materially overstated; that the Company was experiencing a higher percentage of non-performing loans; that the Company's new loan originations were declining; and that, as a result of the foregoing, the Company would soon be facing liquidity concerns and would be forced to cut or eliminate paying a dividend to shareholders. According to the complaint, on January 22, 2009, after the Company revealed a net loss of over $700 million from, among other things, high provisions for loan losses, for the fourth quarter of 2008, the value of Popular's stock declined significantly.

If you have suffered a net loss for all transactions in Popular, Inc. common stock during the Class Period, you may obtain additional information about this lawsuit and your ability to become a lead plaintiff by contacting Brower Piven at www.browerpiven.com, by email at hoffman@browerpiven.com, by calling 410-986-0036, or at Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation, The World Trade Center-Baltimore, 401 East Pratt Street, Suite 2525, Baltimore, Maryland 21202. Attorneys at Brower Piven have combined experience litigating securities and class action cases of over 40 years. If you choose to retain counsel, you may retain Brower Piven without financial obligation or cost to you, or you may retain other counsel of your choice. You need take no action at this time to be a member of the class.

CONTACT: Charles J. Piven Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation Baltimore, Maryland 410/986-0036 Email Contact