Puerto Rico’s governor submitted a $9.8 billion budget proposal calling for $674 million in cuts amid the U.S. territory’s economic crisis, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday. Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla did not present the budget during a televised address as is traditional, opting instead to file it after legislators recessed for the day.
Puerto Rico in Distress
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Allowing Puerto Rico to restructure its public corporation’s debts in bankruptcy would help give the island’s economy some breathing room and politicians some authority to undertake further economic reforms, according to a commentary in the recent edition of The Weekly Standard magazine. The only problem is that as a U.S. territory, Puerto Rico cannot use chapter 9.
Seven years after their ranks were decimated by the housing crisis, bond insurers are back in the spotlight as Puerto Rico struggles to stave off default, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Companies including Assured Guaranty Ltd., MBIA Inc.
Citibank has sold a $146 million loan it had with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) to a distressed debt investment firm, two sources said yesterday, in a sign of the growing uncertainty over the utility's finances, Reuters reported yesterday.
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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.