Puerto Rico's Government Development Bank (GDB) has hired a restructuring expert to evaluate potential funding sources and financial proposals for the bank and commonwealth, it said yesterday, less than a week before the commonwealth's expected multi-billion dollar municipal bond offering, Reuters reported yesterday.
Puerto Rico still has the capacity to issue more than $3 billion in new debt, senior officials said on Tuesday, adding that they hoped to tap the credit markets in March despite concern about whether the commonwealth can sustain its current large debt load, the New York Times DealBook blog reported yesterday.
Puerto Rico stepped up preparations for a sale of as much as $3.5 billion in bonds, a test of the financially troubled island's ability to access credit markets, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. The U.S. commonwealth, which is not eligible to file for chapter 9 bankruptcy, has hired bankers to manage the bond offering.
The White House is not considering a financial bailout for Puerto Rico, where chronic fiscal challenges have raised the specter of a Detroit-like bankruptcy, an Obama administration official said yesterday, Reuters reported. The island's woes have led credit rating agencies to say that they are considering labeling the U.S. territory's general obligation debt as junk bonds.
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.
