Shareholder Class Action Filed Against Doral Financial Corporation By

RADNOR, Pa., April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP:

Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of all securities purchasers of Doral Financial Corporation ("Doral Financial" or the "Company") between January 15, 2003 and April 18, 2005 inclusive (the "Class Period").

If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP (Marc A. Topaz, Esq. or Darren J. Check, Esq.) toll-free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com.

The complaint charges Doral, Salomon Levis, Richard F. Bonini, and Ricardo Melendez with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that the Company failed to disclose and misrepresented the following material adverse facts which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them: (1) that Doral Financial's earnings quality had been significantly weakened by the Company's use of more aggressive assumptions to generate gain on sale income, as well as to value its retained interests in mortgage loan sales; (2) that Doral Financial's methodology used to calculate the fair value of its portfolio of floating rate interest only strips ("IOs") was incorrect and caused the Company to overstate its financial results by $400-$600 million in fiscal year 2004 alone; (3) that the Company's financial statements were not prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"); (4) that the Company lacked adequate internal controls and was therefore unable to ascertain the true financial condition of the Company; and (5) that as a result, the value of the Company's net income and financial results were materially overstated at all relevant times.

On April 19, 2005, Doral Financial announced that after consulting with various financial institutions and other firms with experience in valuation issues, the Company has determined that it is appropriate to correct the methodology used to calculate the fair value of its portfolio of floating rate interest only strips ("IOs"). On news of this, shares of Doral fell $0.77 per share, or 4.55 percent, to close at $16.15 per share on unusually heavy trading volume. Then on April 20, 2005, Doral Financial announced that on April 19, 2005, the Company was informed by a letter from the SEC that the SEC was conducting an informal investigation. On news of this, shares of Doral fell an additional $0.41 per share to close at $15.74 per share, a $33 decrease from January 18, 2005.

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, which prosecutes class actions in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Schiffrin & Barroway is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered in excess of a billion dollars on behalf of institutional and high net worth individual investors. For more information about Schiffrin & Barroway, or to sign up to participate in this action online, please visit http://www.sbclasslaw.com/.

If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than June 20, 2005 move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiff." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Schiffrin & Barroway, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.

CONTACT: Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP Marc A. Topaz, Esq. Darren J. Check, Esq. 280 King of Prussia Road Radnor, PA 19087 1-888-299-7706 (toll-free) or 1-610-667-7706 Or by e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com