Puerto Rico in Distress

ABI Analysis

As Puerto Rico emerges from a drawn-out bankruptcy process, a federal control board that oversees the island’s finances announced that it will focus on growing the U.S. territory’s economy, the Associated Press reported.

A federal judge curbed Puerto Rico bondholders’ rights to the electric revenue generated by its public power utility, the last major public corporation in the U.S. territory still in bankruptcy after its other public debts were restructured, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported.

Puerto Rico Oversight Board member Justin Peterson and other observers of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bankruptcy criticized what they said was the board's attack on U.S. revenue bonds in the lien adversary proceeding and called for state attorneys general to intervene, Bond Buyer reported.

Residential electric bills in Puerto Rico could increase by an average of $19 a month if a federal bankruptcy judge approves a proposal filed Thursday to restructure the staggering debt held by Puerto Rico’s power company, the Associated Press reported.