Puerto Rico in Distress

ABI Analysis

A bankrupt British Virgin Islands luxury resort owner was assailed by lender FirstBank Puerto Rico for an allegedly “false and misleading” court filing saying a settlement had been reached over the bank’s claims, Bloomberg News reported today. The resort owner, Scrub Island Development Group Ltd., filed a restructuring proposal on Wednesday in U.S.

Puerto Rico is expected to sell roughly $3 billion in bonds today at interest rates that are considerably lower than many investors in the municipal market had expected, providing a rare bright spot for the cash-squeezed island, the New York Times reported today.

Puerto Rico's Government Development Bank (GDB) has hired a restructuring expert to evaluate potential funding sources and financial proposals for the bank and commonwealth, it said yesterday, less than a week before the commonwealth's expected multi-billion dollar municipal bond offering, Reuters reported yesterday.

Puerto Rico still has the capacity to issue more than $3 billion in new debt, senior officials said on Tuesday, adding that they hoped to tap the credit markets in March despite concern about whether the commonwealth can sustain its current large debt load, the New York Times DealBook blog reported yesterday.

Other Resources

The Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico was created under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act of 2016. The Board consists of seven members appointed by the President of the United States and one ex officio member designated by the Governor of Puerto Rico. Access information on the Board, documents, videos of meetings, calendar of events and live webcasts by clicking here.