Puerto Rico in Distress

ABI Analysis

A court-appointed mediation team overseeing negotiations between Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy power utility and its creditors wants a new debt restructuring proposal filed within 60 days and a confirmation hearing to be held no later than June, Bloomberg News reported.

Puerto Rican officials are re-examining a controversial deal to put private operators in charge of electricity service as the island territory’s power system faces another costly reconstruction and renewed fights with investors, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported.

Puerto Rico ended talks with power revenue bondholders without a negotiated deal on $9 billion in debt, leaving its bankrupt electric utility once again without a clear path out of court protection, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The mediated talks are expected to expire Friday, people familiar with the matter said.

An international banker accused of bribing Puerto Rico’s then-governor to undermine an investigation into his institution turned himself in on Wednesday, almost a month after he was charged in federal court, the Associated Press reported.