Although the government of Puerto Rico paid its General Obligation bonds and guaranteed debt due May 1, which totaled about $103 million, Moody’s Investors Service believes it will enter into an eventual default of these bonds in the absence of a federal stay on litigation.
A liquidation of the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico could be a messy proceeding, because there is no precedent for determining how debt responsibilities and assets would be assigned, Economist and Professor Antonio Fernós-Sagebien predicted Wednesday.
The Puerto Rico government’s decision to default on a portion of the $470 million in debt service payments due Monday drew reactions from politicians, analysts and creditors alike, who both urged Congress to act on the Commonwealth’s behalf and predicted long court battles ahead.