Fitch Ratings downgraded Wednesday the rating on $8.7 billion of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s power revenue bonds to “BB” from “BB+,” putting them at junk level. In addition, Fitch also placed the “BB” classification on rating watch negative.
Puerto Rico is in the throes of one of the most serious economic depressions in the last 40 years of its history as a Commonwealth. However, it is not alone in its experience, which could be compared to the fiscal crisis New York City faced in 1975, when it was on on the verge of defaulting on its obligations.
On the eve of what seems to be a “do-or-die” trip to the stateside bond market through which it is seeking to sell at least $3 billion in Commonwealth General Obligation bonds, the government is warning would-be investors that purchasing into the deal “involves significant risks.”
A Dow Jones/Factiva content provider since 2014
Subscribe to our Dollars & Sense podcast!
