Puerto Rico in Distress

ABI Analysis

The renegotiation of $18 billion in Puerto Rico debt is creating fresh headaches for a New York bank caught up in conflicts of interest between disaffected creditors, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported.

House lawmakers concerned about the possibility of self-dealing and other hidden conflicts of interest in Puerto Rico’s $123 billion bankruptcy introduced a measure yesterday intended to strengthen reporting requirements, after one of the case’s most influential consultants was shown to have an undisclosed stake in Puerto Rico’s debt, the New York Times reported.

Last week, 34 members of Congress, all Democrats, signed a letter calling on the Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) to rethink its policies and practices with regards to the restructuring of Puerto Rico’s debt and to align them with PROMESA’s mission, according to a commentary yesterday in The Hill.

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló yesterday signed into law legislation to provide nearly $2 billion in tax relief over five years amid concerns by the U.S. commonwealth’s federally created fiscal oversight board about how the island will fund the tax break, Reuters reported.