Puerto Rico in Distress

ABI Analysis

Puerto Rico’s federally appointed fiscal oversight board announced yesterday that it will seek to invalidate in federal court more than $6 billion of general obligation (GO) bonds, Reuters reported. The action is aimed at three GO debt issues sold by the U.S. territory in 2012 and 2014 that were already in default.

The renegotiation of $18 billion in Puerto Rico debt is creating fresh headaches for a New York bank caught up in conflicts of interest between disaffected creditors, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported.

House lawmakers concerned about the possibility of self-dealing and other hidden conflicts of interest in Puerto Rico’s $123 billion bankruptcy introduced a measure yesterday intended to strengthen reporting requirements, after one of the case’s most influential consultants was shown to have an undisclosed stake in Puerto Rico’s debt, the New York Times reported.

Last week, 34 members of Congress, all Democrats, signed a letter calling on the Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) to rethink its policies and practices with regards to the restructuring of Puerto Rico’s debt and to align them with PROMESA’s mission, according to a commentary yesterday in The Hill.

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.