Investors in Puerto Rico debt got double-whammied by the island’s government Monday, which missed a $58 million debt payment as it had predicted it would, and separately told creditors it has temporarily suspended monthly deposits to its General Obligation (GO) bonds redemption fund.
The Puerto Rico central government is facing pressure to “act with more conviction and with more urgency” to address its dwindling liquidity, crushing debt and anxiety building up over the island’s fiscal problems.
The creditors who sued the Puerto Rico government over the legality of the Debt Enforcement and Recovery Act said Tuesday the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals to uphold a San Juan court’s determination that it was unconstitutional “protects bondholders across the United States.”
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority announced Thursday that, following a competitive selection process, the Board of Directors has appointed Lisa J. Donahue as chief restructuring officer.
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority announced Thursday that discussions with its creditors have resulted in agreements that provide the agency with a “consensual path forward to improve its operations and financial situation.”
Gov. Alejandro García-Padilla filed Wednesday at the Legislature the “Puerto Rico Public Corporations Debt Enforcement and Recovery Act,” to create a clear legislative framework to assist financially stressed public corporations overcome their problems “through an orderly, statutory process” that allows them to handle their debts fairly and equitably, while ensuring the continuity of essential services to citizens and infrastructure upgrades.
Stabilizing Puerto Rico’s $70 billion debt as a share of its income and reducing it to more sustainable levels should be a key goal of the island’s fiscal and economic policy, New York Fed CEO William Dudley said during a presentation to the CPA Society on Tuesday.
Contrary to what the government has been asserting over the past few months, the proposed budget for Fiscal 2015 will not be a balanced one because it is not factoring in sufficient appropriations to cover bond interest payments due, the Center for a New Economy said Wednesday.
The mess that the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority is submerged has gotten out of control, and so has the and public discourse that tends to further confuse people complicating an issue that has some clear immediate remedies.
In early April, the government of Puerto Rico disclosed the hiring of a New York law firm that has handled more than 30 sovereign debt restructurings, including those of Greece, Argentina, Iraq and Russia.
Puerto Rico is in hot pursuit of the wealthiest stateside investors, with the public and private sectors banding together to showcase the benefits — both legal and natural — that the island has to offer.
The Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico spent $2.6 million to pay for the services of two stateside law firms, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and Proskauer & Rose LLP, seeking advice on “financing plans and other related matters.”
NIMB ON SOCIAL MEDIA