Puerto Rico in Distress

ABI Analysis

Puerto Rico's government reached a deal on Monday with a bondholder group to restructure more than a third of the debt owed by its troubled power company as the utility moves toward privatization, the Associated Press reported. A federal control board overseeing the U.S.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday introduced a bill that would essentially wipe out tens of billions of dollars of Puerto Rico’s $73 billion in outstanding debt, CNBC.com reported. The proposal, entitled the “U.S. Territorial Relief Act of 2018,” counts Democratic Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Edward J.

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló threatened to withhold testimony from a U.S. House committee later this month if lawmakers don’t apologize for a snide remark on Twitter, Bloomberg reported. At a press conference in San Juan, Rosselló said that the tweet in question — "Call your office, @ricardorossello" — was disrespectful toward him and the people of Puerto Rico.

MBIA Inc.’s National Public Finance Guarantee is urging Puerto Rico’s federal board to consider putting a receiver in charge of the island’s bankrupt power utility after the electricity provider lost two chief executive officers last week amid an uproar over their salaries, Bloomberg News reported.

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.